Who will it be today? #6

Who will it be today?  The patient parent

Yesterday I had some time to kill before one of my appointments.  I was particularly exhausted so I decided to rest in a comfy chair with a nice view of town.  But I didn't get much rest.
A teenage autistic boy happened to have an upcoming appointment on the same floor, and he wasn't looking forward to it.  He was screaming, acting out, and carrying on in such a way that it seemed the whole clinic must have been aware of his presence.
In the midst of all the staring and head shaking and pseudo-empathetic comments, I couldn't help but be drawn to the peaceful, calming presence of the boy's father.  He could have chosen to be embarrassed or to lose his cool or to lash out at his son in a completely unproductive way.  But he understood his son like no one else and, over the years, he had undoubtedly been well-trained in the practice of patience and self-control.  I admired him in that moment.
I knew there wasn't really anything I could do to help the situation but I did walk up to the gentleman and express my uninformed sympathy for what I anticipated to be a very trying day.  I told him about Beth and her experience with the autism center.  I discovered that the young man had already had lunch but that he does like pizza so I gave dad a Toppers coupon and a copy of my letter.  Hopefully the gift of free pizza will be a blessing this week.
I told them I'd be praying the day would go as smoothly as possible and then got out of their hair.  It's hard for me to even fathom what life is like for the parents of children with special needs.  I know a lot of people say things like "they must be special people" or that "I could never do that."  Although there's a lot of truth in that line of thinking, it's probably an oversimplification.  We sell ourselves short too often and we have too small a view of our God-enabled capabilities.  This man loved his son and so his attitudes were adapted to accommodate what his son required.  Every trial we face is a similar opportunity to be molded.  I hope the Spirit grants me the peace and patience and self-control that I witnessed.

Who will it be tomorrow?