April 12

Pentecost

            When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly from heaven there came a sound like the rush of a violent wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability.

Acts 1:1-4

           

            What if words did not divide us anymore?  What if we were suddenly able to speak with the full confidence that the person listening to us understood both everything that we said and everything that we meant?  So many conflicts, so many wars have begun because one person said something that another person misunderstood. 

            It happens around my house all the time.  Something is said in jest and internalized by someone else as truth.  Or there is a sarcastic tone that someone does not fully recognize.  Or I’m quoting a movie and a child is confused.  Or we are working hard to clean the house for guests and I tell one of the kids to do something but they can’t quite hear me so they do…something else, usually a not-especially-helpful something else and then I get angry at them because I requested something and they agreed and then they didn’t do it and now there are tears. 

            This happens in Christendom.  We all use the same words, because they are the words that we have, but we mean very different things.  Truth.  Does truth mean the reality of what you have experienced?  Does it mean objective facts that have been scientifically tested?  Does it mean objective facts that cannot be tested?  Does it mean tradition?  I’ve heard the word used to mean all those things, not just from random people in my life but from the pulpit.

            Would it not be amazing to speak and know that you are understood?  Would it not be amazing to not worry about translating in your head?  To not have to think about coming up with just the exact right word or turn of phrase, but be able to speak from the heart?  That is what happened with the disciples in that upper room.  The Holy Spirit of God invaded their hearts and minds and gave them the ability to speak different languages.  They went into the streets and testified to the truth of Jesus’ life and death and resurrection and the words that they spoke were in no language that they had ever received training in before.  God was their translator and connected them with individuals and communities who heard the gospel in their native tongue.  Simply amazing.

            Our kids have a language that is all their own.  For those of us here in America, it is often based out of English, but that is not all of it.  It is a language of words and sounds and phrases that they have picked up.  It is a language of verbal and nonverbal cues that indicate meaning.  The grinding of the jaw or the flexing of fingers or the beginning of sweating can all communicate their emotional state.  A repeated phrase from a movie or a book can be an indicator that they are hungry or happy or anxious.

            There is no rule book for how a traumatic brain injury or autism will affect the brain’s language centers.  We have to figure it out and sometimes it feels like we need the Holy Spirit of God to invade our heart and mind to have any hope of success.  Praying will help…and we also need to invest time and attention into what our kids say and how they say it in order to learn as much about their language as we can. 

• ·         How do they communicate when they are happy and satisfied?  What do they reference in those times?  How does their face look?  What are they doing with their hands? How does their body move?
• ·         Similar questions for when they are upset.  What do they say?  How do they move?  Were there warning signs approaching this point?  Did their face get flushed or were they fighting back tears?  Did their noises get louder or softer or a different pitch?  What did they do to try communicating that they were not okay?

Our children speak a different language than we do.  I find that it is helpful to approach them with that mindset.  I am learning how to speak a different language which takes time and patience and observation and practice.  I have to translate in my head what my son is trying to communicate and I have to translate in my head what I want to say into a language that he can hear.

            Someday we will not have that language barrier…but until that day, refusing to learn a new language is simply inviting conflict.

           

A moment to reflect:

What is involved in your child’s language?