What relationships do you have with people who are not yet represented in the decision-making that you are a part of? What steps can you take to connect them with others who would support them in such roles or invite them to imagine themselves in these positions?
It has taken me a long time to even consider sharing the power and platforms I have been given with others who are marginalized. I find this hard because admittedly I am fearful of giving up my power and feeling powerless again.
Often, somebody that holds a lot of power or privilege of one type has an easier on-ramp to additional forms of privilege and power than somebody who does not. Thus, rather than being evenly distributed, power tends to accumulate. This is a symptom of our broken humanity rather than the values of the kingdom of God in action.
Last night I did what I do every night as the day winds down, I mentally went through my day and noted all the things I didn’t get done. The list was long. The tasks should have been easy. I felt like I had failed at life, and this was a familiar feeling because this is a familiar routine.
Crossing the threshold of being disabled myself has been such a privilege and a joy because it has transformed the way I can connect with people. Even if our diagnoses are wildly different, and our bodily experiences seem to have little in common, there’s still a deep understanding of what it is to live in a way that doesn’t always fit the systems of our world.
I do not have a problem with the word “disability.” In my view, disability is not a positive or negative. It just is what it is. Asking if I have disability pride is like asking me if I am proud of my brown hair. I like it. Then again, it is the only hair colour I’ve ever known, and I didn’t do anything to earn it.
It might sound cliché, but I was hired to help others and they helped me just as much, perhaps even more. I learned about acceptance, trust, diversity, and what it meant to have a place to belong. Looking back, I realize God was beginning to teach me about 1 Corinthians 12 and what it means to be whole.
I am having a bad day at the group home, the sort of day where I find myself drafting resignation letters in my head. There is too much to do, and [Read More]
I was born with a physical disability known as Cerebral Palsy. As a result I use a power wheelchair: I also live with limited gross and fine motor skills and a [Read More]
Much of the rhetoric in our society about pain suggests that it can, and should, be used as a catalyst to become stronger. But why is strength the goal? Is weakness always a problem?