08 Oct 06: Today I spent a few moments with my good friend Ryan, a 10 year old who has multiple disabilities. Ryan is always in the "lobby" at Cross Timbers Community Church following the 9:30 am service. Visiting Ryan is truly a highlight of my day and a great way to start the week. He delights in removing hats from people's heads...
Ryan's best friend is Don, so he is first in the rotation for hat removal.
Ryan celebrates his accomplishment even as Don drops a hat on Ryan's head; turn about is fair play!
My daughter Aimee is happy to facilitate and participate in this event.
Now it is Dustin's turn. Take a knee and line up.
If hat snatching were a sport, Ryan would be Olympic champion!
Here I am bracing for impact as Ryan determines the best way to snatch this hat. The visior provides the handle for the task, but the hat is rotated, making the visor unavailable. Meanwhile, Aimee prepares for her next turn.
Multiple hats, multiple laughs.
This amazing boy never grows weary of his hat trick. We only stop when the next service begins.
Ryan communicates using a special computer to create words and sentences that are displayed on a ruggedized screen. But at this moment we all know what he is saying. Expressions of pure joy are universal. A smile in Texas is a smile anywhere.
A child's smile is as sweet as a great grandma's smile. A smile today is the same as 2000 years ago.
Ryan gets a hat on his head, because, as previously mentioned, turn about is fair play!
Tori's turn...
Shelby's turn. Everybody gets a turn.
Ryan surveys his domain of hats sprinkled about on the floor...
...and displays yet another captured hat.
Ryan takes great pleasure in simple things like a hat toss; he does not need X-Box, a Game Cube, a Gameboy, Ninetindo, a cell phone, Blackberry, computer or anything else. He has a childlike faith spoken of in Matthew Chapter 18 that I find both challenging and inspirational. How about you? Want to learn more? If not, why not?