Winston Burkett listened as a friend of his compared his nephew to a blue rose. The nephew had Down’s Syndrome and like the blue rose was difficult to raise and required much attention to survive. Mr. Burkett didn’t fully comprehend the comparison until his grand-daughter, Morgan Vice, was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at the age of three. The revelation of the magnitude of this comparison brought him to fondly call Morgan his “Blue Rose” and inspired him to write a story. The title of the story is “Blue Rose and Silver Hair” which was published in the summer issue of “The Quarterly Reader. The story was set in the 1940’s around a girl with autism.

Tammy Vice was inspired by her father’s story and wrote a song, “Blue Rose”. Little did Mr. Burkett know his story would trigger a chain reaction. Tammy would introduce her song with the explanation of how she came to write it and then challenge everyone within the sound of her voice to seek out the “Blue Roses” in their community. It troubled Tammy deeply to look around and not see these children and their families. She understood the daily struggles and how those struggles affected the entire family both physically and mentally, she lived it daily. Tammy had supporting family and friends, and knew many families did not and she wanted to reach out to those families. She wanted to educate others and give them the knowledge to reach out to these families.

Your challenge is this. Seek out a “Blue Rose” in your community and become a friend to that child and his or her family. I guarantee your life will be richer in the knowledge of God’s love for you and yours.