What my son taught me.....

I guess the first thing I should explain is that my son was born with Down syndrome. I suppose our world considers him to be mentally disabled and yet I have to say his wisdom surpassed mine a thousand-fold. Someone whose ego is not responsible for his or her reaction to the world around them is clearly a more advanced soul, a master teacher than sets an example for others to follow.
What I have come to learn in time is that not everyone has the ability to care for these special children and by special I mean any child considered to be less than perfect by our society either due to our own measurement of intellectual capacity, severe health condition or supposed chromosomal abnormality. These children are only given to parents who are ready for the lessons being provided.
So many people misunderstand the responsibility of having a special needs child. I think our first gut reaction is to ask yourself why you are being punished or what karmic things you are repaying. Then comes in a feeling of utter helplessness and the strong desire to want to protect this child from a world that is knowingly cruel. Memories of your middle school and high school years dredge up horrible images of children that are purposely cruel to these kids, teasing them and laughing at them. The worry one feels at that moment, the pride that kicks in and the desire to beat the heck out of anyone who would dare hurt your child is somewhat overpowering. At least it was for me.
In less time than one can even process, the feeling of complete unconditional love and devotion over powers all other things making it seem so small in comparison. Their smile, their generosity, their absolute and completely unconditional love, it is an energy so strong and powerful, it immediately makes you aware of the great blessing you have received. You realize what an idiot you had been for ever questioning God’s profound wisdom.
These children teach us profound lessons, create family unity, and enrich our lives in ways we never even imagined. Their happiness is contagious, seeing the world through their eyes is perhaps the greatest experience one can have. It is not a matter of it being easy, but rather the good greatly out weighs any difficulties. It is something I will forever be thankful for. In short I will say this, the privilege of caring for a great master teacher such as the one that came into my life, was one of the greatest blessings ever bestowed upon me. 
His arrival was the catalyst that set off my own spiritual evolution.  It was then that I understood my son’s greatest lesson to me; it was not his imperfection that was in question here, but rather my own.