It took me a couple of years before consenting to participate in speech therapy. At first, I did not want to admit I needed it. I just needed to read a book or pray real hard and I would soon become the new 2020 version of Billy Graham. I had convinced myself that I was an old dawg unable to learn new tricks and that the aforementioned therapy would consist of gimmicks, tricks, and shortcuts that could be used to mask my insufficiencies. Old Parkinson’s was gonna take my ability away sooner or later anyway, so why waste the time.
In this whole process of seeing the need for therapy, arranging it, and participating in the endeavor, this aged canine has learned a couple of lessons.
1. I love my place of ministry and I want to be effective for as long as I possibly can. To be effective, it will be quite important for me to be able to communicate with the Poplar Springs congregation in worship on a regular basis. I simply have to get to the point where the word from congregation to pulpit is not “huh?” but “Amen” and “I hear ya!”
2. Speech therapy is work and it’s time-consuming. One of my other excuses for putting off this effort was that I had too may other responsibilities. I know what you’re thinking, “Andy’s a pastor! What does he do all day long?” I don’t know either. But somehow days and weeks get consumed so quickly that I find myself bumfuzzled trying to figure out where the time has gone and what needed task I have forgotten to perform. I simply did not have time to do it but Kim and God convinced me that I did not have time to not do it. The work has been difficult and quite awkward as I am forced to eyeball my therapist and repeat phrases, read paragraphs, and make noises that I am sure are being recorded as a Halloween soundtrack or as a sportsman’s guide to the sounds of wounded and dying wildlife. Time and space will not allow me to delve into homework and the dilemma of finding a place to yell out my assignments.
3. Speech therapy is not magic, a bag of tricks or verbal shortcuts. It is all about the fundamentals and re-learning how to apply them – speaking loudly, speaking clearly, and putting some feeling in what you say. The other day, I was repeating my list of phrases that I compiled as a part of an earlier homework assignment. I was reading the following simple statement, “Welcome to Poplar Springs.” My therapist’s response was, “You didn’t make me feel like I was welcomed at your church.” Something tells me I need to work on that one.
Thank you, Poplar Springs, for affording me the time to participate in this program. Please pray that God will use this for His glory, that His strength may be seen in my weakness. If you see and hear me greeting a guest or proclaiming from the pulpit, “Welcome to Poplar Springs,” feel free to tell me if you did not feel it. I want all people to know they are welcome at good ol’ PSBC. Constructive comments are a part of ongoing therapy! Just be nice…..
God Bless (with intense sincerity)
Andy O. (704) 300-0062