Most people I know have
issues of some kind. I have
learned that things or people are rarely what they seem to be on the
surface. We all wear a mask at
some point in our life, we are all actors. The man you see in church every morning seems to be the definition
of a good Christian. He may be
there asking forgiveness for his volatile temper that he displays at home. The most popular girl in school is the
picture of confidence. She might
be someone filled with fear and self-doubt. As I am thinking about this subject, I recall the final
performance at Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts. It's title
"Identity Crisis."
Dallas was a part of that production and it hit home for me. She did a wonderful job too. This production proved to me just how
young we start wearing these masks of life. Some of us wear them by choice; others have it thrust upon
them by the people who are judging.
I used to be quite
judgmental. Well I hope I can say
used to be. Over the years I've
realized everyone has something going on in their life that they find difficult
to handle. I try to think twice
before I am critical of another.
There are still moments when I speak before I think. Children are great reminders of our
imperfections. There have been
times when one of mine has called me out for saying what I should not.
Madison used to become quite
sad when people would judge her, or stare at her because she looked a little
different. She understood why kids
did it but was always disappointed at the adults who stared. This usually happened when she was in
her wheel chair, but not always.
Madison had the typical Marfan look. She was tall for her age, quite thin, double jointed, had
long skinny fingers and toes and arms and legs. She also had a long narrow face, and those are the features
that caused people to stare. What
they failed to notice were her beautiful blue eyes and shapely lips, her creamy
smooth skin and long thick wavy hair.
Because some people judged her by appearance, they missed the best part
of her. She had a wicked quick
sense of humor, an infectious laugh and a sensitive heart of gold.
She would have turned 21
today.
