The Best Gift God Ever Gave
Rev. Marshall Lawrence, Executive Director
Silent Blessings Deaf Ministries
It was the Sunday after Christmas and my wife, Terry, and our two daughters, Carol (16) and Rachel (7), were at church. Rachel had been in the residential program of the Indiana School for the Deaf for almost three years by that time. Before the residential school she was a more sullen child. She felt odd. Different. Left out. But now she was so much more outgoing and confident.
We came to the part of the service where the pastor called all the children up to the platform for the “Children’s Message.” Rachel marched up with the other kids and I took my place where she could see me interpret the pastor’s remarks.
He started by asking the kids, “What’s the best gift God ever gave you.” Of course, the point the pastor was trying to make was that Jesus is the greatest gift of all! But, being children, most of them began to name their favorite gifts that Santa had left under the the tree a couple of days before.
“A pair of skates!”
“A bicycle!”
“A pony!” (That must have been a BIG tree!)
Obviously Rachel couldn’t hear this list. In fact, she couldn’t see me signing it because she had her head down and her eyes closed trying to think how to respond. Then her eyes flew open, she grinned a big grin and signed, “My deafness!”
I was stunned. I never expected that! So I tried to get my heart back down my throat and I signed, “Why do you say that?”
The smile broadened and her eyes twinkled as she signed, “Makes me special.”
This girl who had been sad just a few years ago because she was different from everyone else was now celebrating her identity as a proud Deaf person. She felt special because of her new language and her new place in a society that was important to her.
This Christmas is the 20th anniversary of that moment of self revelation. It was confirmation to Terry and me that we had chosen the right path for her. Today she is a beautiful young Christian woman who continues to celebrate her Deaf language, her Deaf culture, and her sense of belonging in that world. But that moment still ranks as one of my best Christmas gifts ever!