An "Above-and-Beyond" God!

As some of you know, our daughter has been diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome - a form of autism. It makes life a little more exciting and unique and hasn't been a negative thing in the least for us. We have always enjoyed our daughter and her little "quirks". Her diagnosis has actually brought some sighs of relief because we now understand why she can't always answer us or process certain things.
School brought the realization that our daughter's "quirks" needed some outside intervention to help her function in a world that can't always embrace or understand these quirks. She also needs to learn different ways to process things necessary for successful communication and life.
Another milestone experience this past week - Summer Bible Camp - reinforced the continued need for extra intervention. We really had no idea what we needed to do to prepare her or the camp. This is a first for us! We did alert the camp that she has Asperger's, but didn't know how much further to go with it. We REALLY didn't want her labeled and carrying a stigma before she even got there! So we did what we know to do from the getgo - we left it in the Lord's hands.
For a month I pleaded with the Lord that he put in place exactly what DearDaughter needed. After all, he created her. Who better to understand her and know what she needs than the one who knit her every cell together!? What a peace and comfort this knowledge has given me over and over. I am so glad I know and love this Creator and that he is intimately involved with me and my children! One specific prayer I prayed was that DearDaughter would have a counselor that was a mom and that this woman would just bond with DearDaughter and understand her.
When we brought DearDaughter and her friends to their cabin to settle them in, I met the counselors - one of them a mom. And my "above-and-beyond" God knew that this mom was the perfect counselor for her because this mom had a son with Asperger's! My heart was full of praise and I left feeling very confident. But God's provision didn't end there!
We had no idea if DearDaugter would have emotional melt-downs or not. Like I said, this was a first and we just can never predict how she is going to react to situations. However, God sees and ALWAYS knows. She did have many melt-downs and these can be very intimidating if you don't know what you're dealing with. She doesn't do scarey or weird things, she just falls apart and cries over little things and not much consoles her. We have learned how to deal with it and scratching her back usually helps. We did share this information with them, but my guess is that since it wasn't Mom or Dad doing it, it was an irritation rather than soothing.
Here's where God stepped in again and answered prayer. The woman across the hall was a pera who works with Asperger/Autistic children in school! She knew of pressure points and different massage techniques that work to calm these children down! She used these on DearDaughter and they worked. Praise God! Again he provided what was needed - for everyone! Someone with the patience and understanding needed to bring calm to camp atmosphere and relief for DearDaughter who was overwhelmed by things she couldn't process.
It really didn't even end there - the other counselor in DearDaughter's room has a brother with Asperger's. DearDaughter was surrounded by people who could understand the unique characteristics of this syndrome. Who else but God could have put all this in place?
All-in-all, it was a great experience for DearDaughter. When she finally adjusted back into life at home, she was overflowing with stories of camp. That's a big deal because part of Asperger's is the inability to use words to communicate what is going on in the brain. I have learned that when she wants to talk, I drop EVERYTHING and listen! What a joy to hear all the wonderful experiences stored in her brain. She truly loved camp and can't wait to go again. And why not? She's got a faithful "Above-and-Beyond" God who loves her. What more can a mommy ask?