Spina bifida didn’t usually stop my 5-year-old grandson Jaden from keeping up with his brothers and sisters. But after surgery to loosen the muscles in his knees and ankles, both his legs were in casts. He had to ride in a wheelchair during our trip to the zoo.
I wheeled Jaden down a wood-chip path. A low rope ran along its edge, dividing us from the kangaroos lazing in the grass. “Can we pet them?” Jaden asked the zoo attendant who was passing by.
“Yes, they’re very friendly,” she said. “But you must stay on the path.”
The children rushed to the rope and stretched over it so he could pet those adorable creatures. Jaden reached for a kangaroo from his wheelchair but couldn’t get anywhere close. Must everything be so hard for him, Lord?
Right then a kangaroo rolled over and stood on its hind legs. One, two, three hops and it was over the rope. The kangaroo lay at Jaden’s feet! I sat my grandson down next to it. Jaden gently petted the animal between the ears.
The other children all gathered round to meet the accommodating kangaroo. The one that God sent just for Jaden.
