It started with a turtle.

Young Shelby Knight was furious.  Life wasn’t being fair.  She screamed at the heavens, “I can’t do this Lord; I can NOT do this!  I can NOT have this child!  I can NOT raise a child like this!”

Her two-year-old son, Jeremiah Benjamin Knight had been diagnosed with moderate to severe autism.

Shelby couldn’t see a way for their future to be anything but hard.

——————————————

Now Shelby says she clearly heard God speaking to her, “If you can’t (raise him), that’s fine; I will take him and you won’t have to do this.”

The thought of losing her little, much-loved son shook her.  It brought her back to reality.  Shelby took a deep breath, wiped her tears, and determined to do whatever it took to give her boy a good life.

“Being distraught with an actual diagnosis for our boy and with very little information available to us at the time (this was in the days before the internet), we struggled to find authentic, relevant information to help us.”

Shelby and her husband Ben accepted the probability that there would be no cure for young Jeremiah’s affliction.  They decided they wouldn’t even look for one.  Instead they loved her son even more and worked to find ways he could work within the limitations put on him by nature, while, like parents throughout time, they encouraged him to try new things.

Accept but don’t surrender.

Autism, more commonly referred to now as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), is a neurological developmental disorder often characterized by difficulty communicating and interacting socially, along with repetitive patterns of behavior.

They determined to give Jeremiah the best life possible through various therapies and programs.

——————————————

After Jeremiah’s diagnosis friends and relatives contacted the couple with messages of love and support.  One card they received stood out to them in particular.  It included a bible verse from the book that bore their own son’s name.  Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

That verse did give them hope.  It told Shelby that she and her husband were doing the right thing.

——————————————

Thus it was that Jeremiah attended school and worked hard to earn his diploma.  Once he graduated, however, he couldn’t find a job.  “There just wasn’t employment for a kid like Jeremiah,” explained Shelby.  “With autism there just is no employment,”

What they had yet to understand was that the answer was right in front of them.  Well, more accurately, it was sitting on the windowsill.

——————————————

During Jeremiah’s sophomore year in high school he had participated in an art class.  One of the projects he showed particular aptitude for was working with clay.  He made a little turtle with big eyes and took it home to his mom.  She loved it. 

Shelby put her son’s creation on the kitchen windowsill where she could look at it often.

Jeremiah had a talent that couldn’t be denied.  He loved working with clay and continued to do it at home.  He turned out little creations of many types, some from television shows or cartoons or books and some from his own imagination.  Other people loved them too.

Upon his graduation from high school in 2008 the Knights bought their son 50 pounds of clay and a kiln.  Later they set up an art show for him.

It was a hit…a big hit.

——————————————

Jeremiah’s parents then set up a business to help him sell the huge number of clay creations he produced, mostly in the form of refrigerator magnets.  People were eager to buy them.

Shelby explained, “No two pieces are exactly alike, which makes each piece one-of-a-kind art.  Just like persons with disabilities, their uniqueness is what makes them so special.”

She points out that her son would probably say his favorite thing about his business is that people pay him to create his art, but she believes the best part for him is watching other people’s fascination with his work.  Jeremiah takes pictures with every person who buys from him at art shows.  Shelby says, “I can see in his expression that he’s getting a great deal of satisfaction in knowing people value him through the work he can produce.”

——————————————

Jeremiah’s love of what he calls claymation has blossomed into a modest business.  Under the business name Jeremiah 29:11 his creations are sold in shops in Jonesboro (where Jeremiah’s family lives), Paragould, and Little Rock, Arkansas, and are sold nationwide on his Facebook page (Shop Jeremiah 29:11).

——————————————

Last weekend, Annie and I took our granddaughters Harper and Hallie to American Made General Store on the north side of Jonesboro.  I was quickly drawn to Jeremiah’s display.  His refrigerator magnets were, indeed, eye-catching.  As I looked at them I noticed that the dozens and dozens of pieces were each individually made.   Even the ones that seemed at first glance to be alike were each very slightly different.  Looking closer I could even see the creator’s fingerprints in the hard-baked clay. 

The girls loved them so we bought one for each.

I encourage you to check out Jeremiah’s work.  I think you will be as enchanted as we were.

——————————————

Jeremiah’s mom, Shelby, is the Executive Director of The Center for Exceptional Families, an organization that advocates for improved educational opportunities for students with disabilities, including students transitioning to adult life beyond high school.  “Through my business, I am connected to business-oriented individuals who will give us a chance,” she said.  “We’re everywhere, or try to be. We’re always on the lookout for another opportunity for places to take him on, to give it a try.” That phrase, “give it a try,” might sum up the Knights’ approach to life with Jeremiah, and to life in general.  “Every parent has to try to improve their children’s circumstances, regardless of what their disability is,” dad Ben said.  “It’s our job,” Shelby said.  “You have to find God’s grace in your child’s disability.  Accept every child as a gift and a blessing. Jeremiah’s talent gives people hope.  Everyone’s got something, some kind of talent.  “Find out what that gift is in that child, disabled or not.  Lots of families are prisoners of their child’s disability.  We definitely are not.”   

——————————————

Jeremiah’s creations can be found for sale in Jonesboro at the American Made General Store, The Parsonage, Noah The Children’s Boutique, Hounds’ Hideaway, and The Center for Exceptional Families; in Paragould at Gracefully Southern Accessories & Gifts and at Southern Roots Boutique; in Little Rock at Bamboo; as well as at the American Made Store in Pocahontas.  You can also view all of Jeremiah’s creations on his Facebook page, Shop Jeremiah 29:11.

——————————————

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AT THE UPPER RIGHT. IT’S FREE!

You will ONLY receive notifications when I post new entries to my blog.

Go to the top of the right hand column where it says, “SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL”.  Fill in your email and hit the “Subscribe” button.  You will receive a verification email.  Please confirm that you want to subscribe by clicking, “Confirm Follow” and you will be set!  Thanks!

It doesn’t seem to work from a cell phone, only a computer.  I don’t know why.  Sorry.  If there’s a problem, send me your email address and I’ll sign you up.

——————————————