Special

Most of life is mundane: laundry, meetings, organizing, oil changes, etc. Every once in a rare while, something comes along that is special - a moment in time that rises above others and is unlikely to be forgotten.

When you combine that special moment with some special people, it is magical.

My church puts on an Easter Egg hunt for the kids in our city who have special needs. These children have a hard time participating in such activities for several reasons: they might have a visual impairment so they are unable to see the eggs, they might have a mobility impairment so they are unable to crawl around and find the eggs, they might have a disability that makes it challenging for them to be in loud crowds, or they might simply be unable to compete with children who are faster and more nimble.

We want these kids to participate in an Easter Egg hunt where those concerns are not limiting.

I cannot describe the feeling that overtakes your heart as you watch kids in wheel chairs use a magnetized wand to pick up eggs with a magnet inside. Everything inside of you changes a little bit when you watch kids who can't see crawl around and use their hearing to search and find eggs that are beeping. The pride on their faces for having completed the challenge all by themselves is more beautiful and touching than all the art hung on the walls of the Met.

An event like this takes a year of planning and hundreds of volunteers. I was humbled by the generosity of our church, our community, and those who gave up their time to participate. But what really brought tears rolling down my cheeks was watching the teenagers who volunteered selflessly and gladly served wherever they were needed. They stuffed eggs, served food, cleaned up, answered questions, laughed, but, most of all, they treated the egg hunters the same as they treated their other friends - normal.

It was special.