Farema was born with autism. Despite theories that autism is caused by immunizations and such, or that autism can be cured, the cold-hard fact is that there is no cure for this disability. Researchers still work to find the cause.
Farema's story is one of authentic hope, and trust in a God who is way bigger than autism, or any other disability or disease we can send His way.
I took a seat on the bench by the window and waved each time Farema passed by, her spindly legs covering the ice as fast as anyone out there, if not faster. Around and around she flew, her face lit up in a smile of pure satisfaction. She looked beautiful and happy.
I felt certain a miracle was unfolding before me. Skating was awakening something in Farema that she had never experienced before. It was no accident that we had stumbled across the ice arena. I had run out of ideas, but God hadn't. He had known all along what would make her heart sing, and I was certain that he had orchestrated this incredible experience for her at just this moment in time.
As I watched my autistic daughter move effortlessly across the ice, my heart overflowed with awe and gratitude to God. I waved at her as she passed, and she looked up at me, a huge grin on her face.
"She's very good! Has she been skating long?"
A voice from behind caught me off guard, and I quickly tried to wipe away the tears that were streaming down my cheeks. I knew I would be at a loss to explain why I was crying.
"She just started today," I said quietly, not expecting an answer.
I was so full of joy, I could barely breathe. Before my eyes, my little girl was emerging from her cocoon of autism and spreading her wings to fly. Out there on the ice was my Farema, the girl who never cared how cold the temperature
might be outside and never noticed the chill of a rainy Oregon winter. She was finally in her own element. She was home.
When we walked out of the arena later that afternoon, Farema's face was glowing, and I couldn't have been more pleased. What an amazing day it had been. Then out of the blue, something even more amazing happened. Farema broke her silence, and for the first time in her life, without prompting or persuasion, she spoke a clear, perfectly formed sentence: 'I like ice!'
An excerpt from Chapter 21
"I Like Ice!"
For years Lauri had tried to find some sort of activity to engage Farema, but nothing really fit. Farema's years of silence were broken however in her early high school years when Lauri, on a whim, stopped at an ice skating rink where Farema finally found something she absolutely loved...ice.
God's grace often touches us in the most unexpected ways and it is those gracious blessings that powerfully impact our lives. So it was for me as God graced me through my association with Farema. From the time I began working with Farema on the ice I was encouraged by her passion for skating.
Every challenge for her became a lesson for me; every triumph for Farema became mine, as well. I received far more from Farema in those instructional sessions than she ever could have learned from me. I was witnessing the grace of God in the brightness of Farema's eyes when she focused on my instruction; the confidence in her movements as she glided across the ice; the resilience in her recovery when she fell on the ice; the joy on her face when she completed a skating program; and the sense of ease in her belonging when she skated and socialized with her fellow skaters.
Every moment with Farema was a privilege and the memory of that time will forever remain among my most treasured life experiences. In Lonely Girl, Gracious God, Lauri Khodabandehloo shares the story a special young woman, her determined and devoted mother and the power of God's grace.
-Lucinda CindyJensen, PSA Master rated coach, retired manager and skating director of the Lane County Ice Center
