“For judgment I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind.” Some Pharisees who were with him heard him say this and asked, “What? Are we blind too?” Jesus said, “If you were blind, you would not be guilty of sin; but now that you claim you can see, your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41 NIV)
The movie Penguin Bloom is highly refreshing because it opens a window into the physical and emotional pain that is often associated with adjustment to disability [...] Most importantly it shows each member of the family journeying through their own experience of grief related to disability and eventually coming out the other side, not wishing to die but learning to spread their wings and fly with reinvigorated passion for life.
Well I finally did it. After three years of using this thing, I capsized my wheelchair; with me in it.
"I was born with cerebral palsy which makes it challenging for me to speak or use my arms and legs. ... It is difficult for me to express my thoughts and ideas to people who do not know me very well because many do not understand the way I talk or type. This takes patience and practice."
One of my fears is that we are losing the ability as a society to help someone who experiences a disability or is suffering in some way, because we are afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing.
The wide range of less privileged guests Jesus adds to the VIP list: the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, serves as an indication that interacting with a wide cross-section of the diverse people that God created and loves is important to becoming Christ-like.
In today’s world, people with disabilities are largely ‘othered’, and there’s movement of self-advocacy afoot among them. There’s no telling what can happen when people unite across differences.
Whom have we ever had but you? Who came to be alone with us Who came to sit and weep with us In the winter after Christmas.
We have hope! Even though This year has been hard. For good things can come When we least expect them.
We have faith that this won’t last That this sickness will end In glory, not in death, but We know sometimes they’re the same.
