Tilt
My neighbor has a young son who is autistic. His name is Ben.
Recently Ben asked his mother, "Mom, did you ever
recognize that our house is tilted?" And then, with a flourish of hand
motions, and speaking at a pace slightly faster than presto, he began to
hypothesize that it's only tilted a little bit, that way (toward the backyard),
but it's probably because the house is built on a hill and that's why it's
tilted but just a little bit. My
neighbor wondered, “did I ever recognize that it was tilted?”
She had two reactions to Ben's announcement. First, she felt
certain that if she were to drop a plumb line and hold up a contractor's level,
she'd certainly confirm that the house is, indeed, tilted a little bit toward
the backyard. Ben's mind works mechanically and geometrically--he sees shapes,
angles, and connections differently from how most of us see them. If he says
the house is tilted, then it most likely is.
Her second thought was that the house is tilted, too, in
ways that Ben never recognized, either. That is, their house is tilted toward
him.
Not too long ago, as they drove home from church, she, her
husband and children chatted casually but loudly about things we had heard and
learned during the meetings. Suddenly Ben said, "Mom--Mom! My
teacher...." and the car fell into absolute silence while Ben shared his
experience. When he finished, her daughter said, "Isn't it funny how we
all just get quiet when Ben wants to talk, so that he doesn't have to keep
starting over and over?"
Their house tilts again toward Ben whenever he gets upset or
has a special need. Everything tilts slightly toward Ben because they love him.
When I read about this, I thought, “How am I tilted?” Where
do I need to be tilted more? I certainly
tilt toward my dear wife. We were
sitting in the bleachers watching Tori’s cheer competition and I noticed that I
would regularly lean over and nudge Jo.
She would look up, smile, and then lean back into me too. This is kind of a regular thing for us.
I tilt toward my children.
My thoughts are always, “what can I do for them? How can I help them? Can I work harder or smarter so that I can
provide more for them?” “How can I get them to clean up their room?” Oh
sorry. That one slipped in. But I also tilt too much toward myself. What do I need? Or I don’t want to do that
because, well, I don’t like it, or some other selfish reason.
I don’t tilt enough toward the scriptures. I should probably tilt away from the TV and
more toward other more productive activities.
In my defense, I do tilt toward Heavenly Father. I lean on him, I trust him and I know that he
helps and blesses me continually. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and
lean not unto thine own understanding. “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he
shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5–6.
So, I think we should all tilt a little more. Tilt toward others, tilt a little farther. Work
on being easier to tilt. Don’t try so
hard to be rigid.
Trust more, love more, tilt more.
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