Life is a Beautiful Struggle

Look out, this might be a long one, it's been a while.

One of our shirts for the summer has "life is a beautiful struggle" written on the back of it. As the second week of camp is coming to a close, the truth of this simple phrase has become more and more clear to me. There are two twin brothers that come to camp, Zion and Zyair. They are fourth graders, sons of a mother of ten children, energetic, passionate about each other, their family, and of course, basketball. They are also severely ADHD and probably have some developmental and learning delays. Life is a beautiful struggle for them. Sometimes they are medicated - when their mom can afford it. When they are taking their medication, they are calm and well-behaved, but they are so subdued it almost hurts to watch them walking through life as if they were fighting their way through a thick fog. when they are not taking their medication, Lord have mercy, its a beautiful struggle. Zion and Zyair are all over the place. They get into arguments with the other campers so much more and are often forced to sit out of their classes for disciplinary reasons. But they are so energetic and so driven in their own way. You can almost see the wheels turning as they process things and bounce from one thing to another in a way that exhausts me just to watch them. We all hate to see them get in trouble as often as they do because they try so hard and they just can't fight past the mental blocks that are in their way. it is clear to me that in such a large family and with cousins and other extended family living with them that they don't always get the attention that they need and that they deserve. It breaks my heart. Life is a beautiful struggle. I am reminded of this when I see Zion and Zyair at camp. They are two beautiful lives with so much to offer growing up in a sea of struggle. I just pray that others will see the beauty in their struggle and give them the chance that they deserve.