Experience Connections

 Photo by Jamie Street on Unsplash

There seem to be a growing number of awareness days.

Cheese Lover? Apparently January 20th is your day.

A fan of lemon juice? Apparently August 29th is your day.

 

Today, 22^nd May, is ‘my’ day. Today is NF2 day, and NF2 is my medical condition.

At the beginning of May, I also marked an awareness week. Deaf Awareness Week (I’m deaf).

I was really touched by how many marked Deaf Awareness Week for and with me; interviewing me, asking me for blogs or comments, showing me thoughtfulness.

My Publisher, Authentic Media, marked the week with me. They asked me for a couple of videos and a short blog. The blog request was to parallel deafness and writing. Well, the original request was to write about how deafness has changed my writing but, since I only began writing after I lost my hearing, I edited it slightly.

Here’s what I wrote:

 

God Tapping

Tap Tap on my ankle.

I looked down and saw my 2 year old nephew.

Tap Tap on my knee.

I looked down and saw my four year old niece.

Tap Tap on my hip.

I looked down and saw my six year old nephew.

Tap Tap on my shoulder.

I looked down and saw my nine year old niece.

It’s not that the children can’t talk. They can chatter away with the best of them. But calling to me to get my attention will literally fall on deaf ears.

Once I am looking at the children, they speak, and I read their lips.

I sometimes get it wrong, and we have some giggles when I mis-lipread, but generally I do understand them. If I am looking at them: otherwise, I have no chance.

This experience of living as a deaf person mirrors my experience as a devotional writer.

The phrase ‘to tap into something’ means to establish a connection.

The children establish a connection with me by tapping.

And so does God.

As I live in His Presence, holding my writing before Him, I find He draws my attention to Himself in every day.

He Taps me, ‘Look at Me.’

I’m here.

This Deaf Awareness Week, I encourage us to be aware of God Tapping.

Showing us Himself in everything.

Reminding us that He is with us.

Establishing a connection.

Where will you see Him today?

 

Perhaps more of us have parallels between life experiences and writing methods…

 

Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

John 10:10b