Copyright 2013 Theresa Harvard Johnson
This article is dedicated to all of those who have had tremendous obstacles to overcome that “seem” to make them strikingly different from others inthe world, and it is for those who love them.
Every morning for past the five days, my son Jeriah (whom we affectionately call JJ) has opened the back door, thrown his arms behind himself in a flying motion, pointed his head forward like an eagle in flight and raced out of the back door and through the garage in a swirling, swaying zigzag all the way to the school bus shouting unceasingly, “Mama! I am SUPERman!”
This morning, I found myself suddenly unloading tears as I watched him.
He wears a safety harness or zipped restraint each morning that straps him into the seat on the school bus to prevent sudden outbursts of movement and disruption. (He thinks its a superhero belt, thanks to my husband who introduced him to the Justice League at birth.) The bus that comes to pick him up is short, and filled with other students “in the midst of testimonies” in their lives. A simple walk through the grocery store or standing in the line at W-al-ma-rt sometimes draw negative attention – as people stare, point, laugh, stretch their eyes and try to decipher the “amazing words that I alone can sometimes understand” that come from his nine-year-old mouth or as they try to make sense of his anxiousness as he tries with all his might to “be cool” in the check-out line amid all the noise, bright lights and activity. They don’t know that just four short years ago, JJ couldn’t speak at all (and was told he would never do so)…. much less stand in a busy store line without experiencing a meltdown.
And there he was this morning smiling at me in that amazing way that he always does… declaring loudly: “I AM SUPERMAN!” Right now, he doesn’t know or understand the cruelty of men or the shunning of others who don’t “get him.” I see it. His Father sees it. His sister sees it. And while it hurts us, JJ moves on in life pursuing LIVING and LOVING!
JJ embraces every SINGLE day like it’s the best day ever. At every opportunity, I make sure that he knows two things: (1) that he is chosen of God and beloved in our family; and (2) that we are the most blessed parents in the world to have him. His life, in our home, will always be saturated with un-bounding love.
This morning, I stood just outside our door in the garage and embraced a flood of tears that just seemed to come from nowhere. His words – Mama! I’m superman – flooded through my ears like a thousand drums. And I heard the voice of the Lord within me say, “Resa, it’s going to be alright.” Resa is my nickname. It’s what my mama, siblings and very close family friends call me.
I watched him get on that big yellow school bus with my prayers and anointed oil dripping from him. I watched the bus monitor adjust the straps on his safety harness and lock him in his seat as the bus pulled off. The Lord whispered to me, “JJ is like superman.”
Through the tears I thanked God for my son’s life. He showed me that while I know that he has called my son for an awesome work in him, that I have still held on to him a little too tightly as his protector. I have to let go, and allow him to raise him up before men. This morning, Jeriah and my Father in heaven were letting me know without a doubt he was going to be okay.
Jeriah knows he is “superman” to God. If you knew him, you would be amazed at his confidence, assurance, trust and REALLY BIG personality. There is absolutely nothing about him – that precious Light on the inside of him – that says “small.”
If Jeriah can SEE himself as superman, what does this say about us? My son, without a doubt, is probably one of the most CONTENT, LOVING AND OUTGOING people you would ever meet. He comes to me daily, grabs me in a bear hug and says: “Oh Mama I LOOOOOOVVVVE You!” in that deep raspy-rough voice.
So my tears dug deep wells of deliverance in my soul this morning as I let my “superman” go just a little bit more from my protective arms. “I’ve got him,” Father assured me, “and can hold on to him better than you ever could.” I smiled as Father asked me in that humorous way that he often does, “What do you see?”
I smiled before walking back into the house and said, “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s SUPERMAN!”
“Yes, he is,” Father said to me. “And don’t you forget it!” I began to dig through old family photos, and I found snapshots from five years ago in which my son was pretending to be superman. (I now know he was NOT pretending.) I smiled realizing “that fire” has always been in him, and it has intensified. Even at that tender age (4), he had a word from God that he couldn’t articulate but was holding on to.
People of God, things are rarely what they seem. We have thoughts and fears hiding in our hearts that we must allow Father to reveal to us and deliver us from. If not, they will sit there as secret places of torment piled above religion. JJ is taking me on a powerful journey through the precious blood of Christ. Each new challenge, presents an opportunity for GOD ALONE to be glorified – not by might, not by power but by HIS Spirit! Truly, what is impossible to man is ALWAYS and ETERNALLY possible with God.
I have the honor and privilege of watching Father glorify himself through my son’s life. What an honor it is to be such a witness. Father, I thank you!
John 9:1-3 CJB, “As Yeshua passed along, he saw a man blind from birth. His talmidim asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned — this man or his parents — to cause him to be born blind?” Yeshua answered, “His blindness is due neither to his sin nor to that of his parents; it happened so that God’s power might be seen at work in him.”
