Seeking God's kingdom and his righteousness is about more than making God your first priority and engaging in spiritual disciplines. Seeking God’s kingdom also means responding to the injustices that we or others experience and advocating for God's kingdom values like love, inclusion and accessibility for all.
This young girl's response not only shows that most people have the capacity to understand how to provide effective support to another person simply by observing and interacting with them thereby demystifying some of the potential challenges to supporting people with disabilities. The principle of watching and learning is also valuable when it comes to matters of faith.
Carly is the youngest of our three adult children. She is now 21 years old and has Angelman Syndrome. Carly’s life has grown my faith and provided inspiration for much of my writing. Jesus, Let’s Talk explores the very personal and natural ways we express ourselves with God, no matter what our abilities are to communicate.
I hope this post is encouraging to people who are wary of helpers without qualifications being involved in their care or that of a loved one. There are blessings that come from simply doing life together in an informal way; necessary skills can be taught to all kinds of people.
Life did not go according to my plan, but God's plan did come to pass. His beautiful, painful, and perfect plan was that he would give me a new heart, again.
I had ideas when he was born of what his adulthood would be like. Reality will be different than my imagination.
The quality of life for many people with disabilities is lower than it could be if more wheelchair manufacturers, occupational therapists and medical supply vendors made and sold products that effectively promoted the future of full societal participation.
Sometimes God provides needed support through unexpected people in unexpected places.
I am confident that God has called me to what many people refer to as “special” education. Really, it is just education for all.
Everybody finds fulfillment in using the unique gifts that God has given her or him. All people find value in meaningful paid or volunteer work that serves their community.
