What if you couldn’t read? Woo hoo! No more long essays or homework for me! Some of you may be thinking that. Or some of you may be thinking, “Nooo! My life would be ruined!”
Even if either of these responses are you, that is what my twin sister Jessie and I grew up with. We couldn’t read. More specifically we couldn’t read or spell. You see, we have Dyslexia. It’s a learning disability. It held us from reading, writing, or spelling. We just couldn’t. The words never made sense to us. I remember sitting down with my mom while she tried to teach me to read. I remember trying so desperately to read the word, “can” and just couldn’t. I really could not read the word can! Such a simple and small word was like trying to read the word supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! And we were born this way.
I have memories of going to a library and checking out books just to pretend to read them. I’d look at my mom or dad reading and I would try and mimic it. I’d move my eyes back and forth trying to make it look as if I was actually reading. That sounds so sad now but when I was little it was normal for me not to read. I never felt dumb or stupid, just…at peace with it. I never stopped trying to read but I never feared about never being able to read. I was five years old, so why would I need to read?
As a homeschooling family, my mom taught us to read. She tried her hardest and found many lessons for us but nothing ever worked. Let me give you an example of what I saw versus what others see. The word “can” is read as “K-AN”, for dyslexics, or for what kind of dyslexia my sister and I had, it was read as, “C-A-N” the literal letters said separately. We couldn’t blend words together to make one full word. We could say the words normally but couldn’t read them.
And at times, it was very frustrating. Some days we cried, others we wanted to give up, and most days it was just a boring chore to do. Reading became a growth on my shoulder that I couldn’t understand or remove. It was annoying and unwanted. And the only antidote was something I couldn’t get, the ability to read.
This disability didn’t stop us from loving books though. We found our own way to read. And that way was in the form of audiobooks. We sure couldn’t read, but we could listen. And we listened non-stop! It started with our dad reading books to us. He used to read books to us ever since we were born. Listening to my dad read gave me the love for books. The day my mom took us to the library and told me that I should try this thing called an audiobook changed my life forever.
I remember my first ever audiobook, The Magic Treehouse: Afternoon On The Amazon. Once I listened to that hand held Playaway I was hooked! My whole heart swelled and I felt giddy every time I picked up an audiobook at the library. Jessie and I would talk for hours about the stories we'd been listening to and tell each other to listen to this one or that one or this one we just found. It was heaven on earth, my friends! Nothing could get better than audiobooks! God gave us something that we could “read” with! Without actually reading! We could imagine and dream and learn!
But this wasn’t the end of His incredible plan for us. We couldn’t escape the fact that we still couldn’t read. And even though we didn’t see any need to read that didn’t stop our mom. She was committed to us being able to read. And she trusted in God for every second of it. My parents would pray everyday for us to read. For years, hope seemed slim until we turned ten. This is where the story gets incredible.
My grandma was at her Bible study one night and was talking to one of her friends. Her friend was telling her about how she used to be a special needs teacher. She is retired now but that gave my grandma an idea. She decided to call my mom and ask her if we’d be interested in having her friend become our tutor and to teach us how to read. Amazed, my mom said, yes! This was an answer to prayer! Someone who knows how to teach kids who have learning disabilities. Someone who loves the Lord and is a friend of our grandma. So my grandma asked if she’d be willing and she said, yes!
Soon, our mom and dad hired her as our tutor. I remembered the first time she came to our house. I was confused on why she was there but went along with it. I remember the first time I met her and how sweet and kind she was. I remember starting to do a lesson with her. And I remember how hard it still was. After that first introduction though ... .God changed us. I remember praying every day to be able to read, trying to trust that God would do it. After two years of prayers, learning, and trying so hard to read, something finally clicked. I could never forget the day when the light came on.
Jessie and I were twelve and I was doing our normal tutoring session with our Grandma’s friend. Though, as I tried to read the page, a light suddenly switched on inside of me. And I read my first full sentence! I can still remember it to this day, I had read the words, “Ben’s red box.” It was so simple yet so impactful. I had read a full sentence! My tutor rejoiced along with me and I kept going. The light clicked on for Jessie that same day and we were finally reading! It was so small but we kept going. We read another sentence, then another.
It was tricky at times but our tutor helped us through it. God helped us through it. We started to read bigger books and spell more. My parents were so excited. We could read! God blessed us to read! After years and years of frustration and no progress we finally did it! And, after three years of learning I am happy to say that Jessie and I are full time readers now! We can read full length chapter books! We can spell big words like conscience (that was a big word for us). Our tutor is still doing work with us even till this day but we have no problem reading, writing, or spelling! We’ve even become writers! We’ve written books, short stories, and research papers!
God had a plan for those two little girls who couldn’t read the word, can. He took our lives and made it a miracle. He never gave up on us when at times we wanted to give up on ourselves. He had a plan for us. Has a plan for us. All of us. I’m still growing in my reading and writing but let me tell you, three years ago I never imagined I’d be where I am today. God truly works in mysterious ways.
Never forget reader, that miracles still happen. Jessie and I are living proof of that. God has a plan, trust in that plan. And remember, this is just the beginning of your story. So, keep turning the pages of your life and never turn back.
This is so amazing, Addison! Praise God that he can turn anything for his good!