Mom's Sermon/March 1974

The following is an excerpt from a sermon that my mother gave during Lent as a lay speaker in March of 1974. She gave this soul searching speech at Centerville United Methodist Church in Centerville, Ohio where I grew up. I would have been 16 years old at that time. Mom spoke about what her faith meant to her and how it made a difference in her life. During her college years, she was a William Danforth fellowship delegate and spent some time with other young Christian people at a non-denominational retreat during the summer between her junior and senior year. She talked about meeting and talking with William Danforth at this leadership conference, who was the founder of the American Youth Foundation and how he inspired her and influenced her faith. He spent much of his life challenging young people to make the most of their lives, to give nothing less than their best. She talked about several low points in her faith and how God carried her through those difficult times. I won't copy the whole sermon but read on. . .

"The next few years included many high points--marriage, teaching, the arrival of our first child. Then life again presented a challenge; we learned that this first daughter, so dear to us, was deaf--not totally so, but to such a degree that she would never learn to speak normally or understand spoken language without a great deal of special training.
It isn't easy to face the fact that you have brought into the world a child with a built-in problem, and it isn't much easier when it happens again, six years later, with our youngest child. Our sense of helplessness eleven years ago was tempered, however, by the knowledge that even then this two-year old child had a great amount of determination and was a bright, healthy, outgoing child.

The years since then have far exceeded our expectations--with four children to make life interesting, there seems to be almost no limit to the wonderful and rewarding experiences. And if you know Laurie today, you know that it is almost impossible to think of her as handicapped. She is always coming up with something. For instance, just a few nights ago we went upstairs for a bedtime check and found her sound asleep, her arm dangling over the side of the bed, and a heavy alarm clock tied to her wrist. She doesn't like to be dependent on someone else to wake her up, and had come up with this idea: since she cannot hear the alarm ring, she had the clock fastened on her arm so tightly that when the alarm went off the vibration would wake her up. Incidently, it worked--though we discouraged her from going to bed every night with a clock tied onto her arm! With a child like that leading you, pushing you, and lighting the path, how could you help but realize God knows what he is doing!

There are times when she comes home after a hard day and asks, "Why did God make me like this? Why am I different? Why can't I hear like other people?" But I seldom need to answer, as she invariably comes up with a smile and a hug and says, "I don't really care, because I'm so lucky!"

Although we know she faces some trying times, it is encouraging to know that she accepts herself, and has an awareness of and trust in God. With that kind of support, surely she will have strength to carry her through many difficulties. I think she and William Danforth would have gotten along well, for it seems that all she needs is a good challenge and she is off and running. So many times it has been she giving me courage and inspiration, rather than the other way around.
No parent would wish this kind of stumbling block for their child, and there have been many times when I wished it were not so. But I know that her presence has given our lives an added dimension, and that out of this situation have come moments of joy we might not have known otherwise; for me, perhaps, it has resulted in a greater measure of patience."
Betty Royer/March 1974

Thank you, Mom. I love you and miss you. Laurie 10/10/05

Me and Dawn

September 20, 2005

Midnight Golf

Dawn recently wrote me an email and reminded me of a time when we "talked in the dark" years ago. We were both members of the Junior Civic League when we lived together in Ohio. One of the fund raisers that we had was a golf scramble at night with fluorescent golf balls. That was one of the few times that I played golf and actually enjoyed it. The following is an excerpt from her letter:

When you wrote the story about "Talking in the Dark" on your blog I was reminded of the time when our guys played a game of golf in Chillicothe one night. Since it was a night golf game the only way we could talk to one another was for me to put a fluorescent golf ball up to my lips so you could see them and understand what I was saying. We had such fun that night. We talked away for hours not thinking a thing about what we had to do just to communicate. When one ball would go dim we would pick up another. We went all night like that. Just walking and talking and picking up balls, especially stray ones when Bill and Steve would miss a shot. Those were such sweet, happy times between good friends. I can't remember which one of our guys won that golf match. I only remember that I had such a good time talking and laughing with a dear friend. It is my prayer for you, dear Laurie, that one day you will hear all those who talk to you in the dark. I also pray that we will have many phone conversations to stay in touch and that repairmen you need will be only be a phone call away. God has been with you dear friend even in your darkest times throughout this journey and "I Can Only Imagine" that he will continue to bless you because you have been so faithful to Him. I look forward to what still lies ahead for you!! I love you!! Have a great day, my dear Laurie!! Love ya, Dawn 09/30/05