I have a friend, and for privacy's sake I'm calling him Percy (because let's be honest, that name is awesome).
Percy and I sing in a choir at our church of between twenty and forty kids. We have good friends amongst these kids, and have known them all of our lives (even though he's about ten years older than I am).
There is something you need to know about Percy.
He's incredible. I have never met anyone funnier, more outgoing, friendlier, or more passionate about Jesus Christ than Percy.
Oh...and there's something else you need to know about him. Percy has autism. He's a little different than everyone else. Sometimes he says weird things or does something inappropriate. Sometimes he doesn't make sense to some people (most of the time he does to me). Sometimes he gets nervous while he's talking and he cuts the sound off in the middle of a word, then resumes again.
Percy is amazing. He knows that the Lord is good, and that He is God. Like I said above, he is incredibly funny, outgoing, friendly, and super passionate about God. In every conversation that we have, I end up laughing so hard my sides hurt. We talk about everything from God to glasses, from moldy cheese to Yoda impressions. Percy is super intelligent.
But Percy's different, and not totally in a good way. Because of being a little awkward socially, everyone says hi and then kind of ignores him. They don't like it that he says and does things differently, so they let him be.
Percy was in a car wreck about a month ago. When he told me, I started crying -- even though he was standing literally RIGHT in front of me, totally fine. I told him that I didn't know what I'd do without him; that I would cry my heart out if he hadn't been okay.
"Really?!" he questioned.
"Yes!!!" I practically yelled in his face.
"I didn't think anyone would miss me that much," he responded.
That last line is what really broke my heart that day. The fact that he didn't know how much he meant to us, and not just because he's one of the three basses in our choir. The fact that he didn't know what a hole would be in our midst if we lost him. The fact that he didn't know that I loved him so incredibly much. That broke my heart.
So if you know someone a little different...go to them, befriend them. Chances are, you might just change their life.
~Grace
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