Thoughtfull: Discovering the Unique Things about People who are Different from Us

I’ll never forget the day that our family discovered my sister was losing her eyesight.

I was five years old and she was only three. We were outside playing tag with the neighbor kids around dusk and, suddenly, as someone chased Rachel, she ran straight into the side of a house. At first, I laughed, teasing her for not looking where she was going. But when she just stood there and cried, I ran up to see if she was ok. With her head in her hands and her shoulders shaking, she whispered, “I didn’t see house.”

That was the beginning of Rachel’s journey, and our family’s, with visual impairment. It’s been a tough road for her, to be sure. As she grew older and her vision diminished, she couldn’t play her favorite sports anymore; she also couldn’t play the trumpet in our school’s band – an activity that she truly loved. Even worse, her classmates stopped inviting her to hang out or to attend parties, labeling her as “the blind girl”. They shunned her because she couldn’t physically do the same thing as her peers.

Despite these hardships and more, Rachel has clung to Christ and chosen joy. I’ve learned so much from my sister’s journey and have come to see that God has made her special just the way she is. Like the blind man in John 9, Rachel’s visual impairment is no accident, and God created her just the way she is to glorify Himself. Furthermore, she has become my model for choosing joy in the midst of suffering.

Thoughtfull: Discovering the Unique Gifts in Each of Us

I recently read Dorena Williamson’s latest book, ThoughtFull: Discovering the Unique Gifts in Each of Us, and her book made me think of my own sister.

In this delightful story, it’s awards day at school, and Ahanu (a boy with Down Syndrome) earns the award for being thoughtful. I don’t think I’ve ever read a children’s book about disabilities before, and I loved that the child in this story with different abilities takes center stage.

Williamson strives to highlight Ahanu’s differences in a beautiful way. She inserts her authorial voice into the story through a fellow student’s father when he says: “Billions of people live in the world, and each one of us has value. If we only spend time around people who are like us, we miss out on discovering the unique things about people who are different from us. The truth is, we’re all gifted by God’s design.” As I read these words, I couldn’t help but think of Psalm 139:13–14, which states, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

The main lesson in Thoughtfull is this: Don’t just see a person’s disability. See their personality, their gifts, their joys. See the unique and beautiful ways that God has made him or her.

Ahanu acts different BUT he is a good friend. He’s a good encourager. He’s always full of “good thoughts – about everybody.” He’s known for being “thoughtFULL.” AND he’s really good at painting and playing football.

Though everyone else see’s Ahanu as a boy with Down Syndrome, Ahanu’s friend, Joshua, sees him as a kind friend who tries really hard at everything he does, and so should we.

Speaking Out Against Bullying

There’s another element to ThoughtFull: Discovering the Unique Gifts in Each of Us that I greatly appreciate, and it is its call for us to speak out against bullying. It’s not enough to just appreciate the differences in others; we must also verbally defend them against other people’s slander.

There is a scene in which boys on the bus make fun of Ahanu’s name (i.e., his cultural difference) and his behavior (i.e., his physical difference). When I read this scene, memories of my own childhood came flooding back to me. My sister and I were two minorities in an all-Caucasian school, and we were both made fun of for being Indian. As I mentioned earlier, my sister was also looked down on for her physical differences. These kinds of experiences are painful and isolating, and I wish that someone would have come to our defense.

Thankfully, in this story, someone does defend Ahanu. A boy named Joshua stands up for him, saying “Hey, guys, have you ever seen Ahanu run the football or paint in art class?…Well, he’s my friend, and he’s really good at both these things. Plus, he’s always being kind and thinking about ways to help people…We could all learn a lot from him.” I loved this moment.

In many ways, this story is as much about Joshua as it is for Ahanu. For Joshua learns to be thoughtful by supporting his differently abled friend. While doing so, Joshua learns important lessons about friendship, disabilities, and the value we each have as God’s children. We are Joshua in this story, and Williamson challenges us to boldly speak up for our fellow brothers and sisters when someone speaks ill of them.

I have read this story a few times already with my toddler son, and my prayer for him is that he will internalize its message, that he will appreciate and value all the different ways that God has made people and that he will also courageously defend and support them in their time of need.

Dorena Williamson has also written a book called ColorFull: Celebrating the Colors God Gave Us. You can read our review for that book here.