Happy Birthday to my first baby who no longer looks like a baby!
Aunt Holly's post from August 28, 2017:
Can you see that kid in the middle of the circle on this football field? The quarterback, the visible leader? His name is Jackson White, and he is my nephew. And I am so proud of him, and it's NOT because of his athleticism.
Jackson was diagnosed with severe dyslexia and ADHD in the first grade. So...while his peers were in traditional schools learning new skills like reading with relative ease, Jackson was not.
And it would have been so easy for Jackson to buy into those lies, the ones that whisper things like..
"You're not good enough."
"You're stupid."
"Different means deficient."
"You can't."
"You're not good enough."
"You're stupid."
"Different means deficient."
"You can't."
But instead, with the help of one of the strongest, most committed mothers I know, Jackson has outworked his challenges.
My sister, Anna, homeschooled him full-time so that he could have a part-time tutor, a specialist in dyslexia, who could help him "learn to learn" in the way that his brain is uniquely wired. And this allowed him to take frequent breaks to get outside and work off his extra energy during the school day. This also allowed him to work at his pace so that he could have the time he needed to process and comprehend.
And all of this taught Jackson a valuable lesson very early on--you have to work hard to achieve, that success isn't defined by what you are given in life but by what you DO with what you've been given.
And I've seen this understanding transform Jackson into a hard working, driven young man, getting up early for workouts at the gym each day, working until dark throwing a baseball or a football or shooting a basketball, even graduating from his tutor in middle school because, as she said, "He doesn't need me anymore!"
And I've seen his confidence grow as he started to see he could do anything he set his mind to do, if he was just willing to work at it. Because sometimes, we all have to work harder than the next guy...
For a kid who could have fallen into the "victim" trap, who could have adopted the labels of "dyslexic" and "hyperactive" and allowed his limitations to define him, he's used his limitations to challenge himself, to make himself stronger, to become an achiever and an overcomer.
And that's why this photo makes me smile. Because I know the boy who has worked so hard to become this leader you see here. His road wasn't easy. But it was the road God used to create an incredible young man who has and will inspire so many people, not the least of which is me.
And there's something else I've learned from Jackson--sometimes your weakness is also your gift. For example, if I ever want to find a needle in a haystack, Jackson is the kid I will call to help. He sees details like no one else, which also might be why reading was challenging. Where I see "cat", Jackson sees the C, the A, and the T....perhaps too much. But watching Jackson has reminded me that my own weaknesses have also been used as strengths in my own life. And for that, I am grateful.
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