"Why Are You Like That?"
In my last post I opened a door that I've only opened for a few people and I've wanted to shed some light on that aspect of life with a disability for years but I could never find the right words. The door being the mindset of "if I wasn't disabled I would do...". I think that while we're in that mindset we view disabilities as problems, and I've heard people say "if he/she wasn't disabled...", which is pure stupidity but that's not my point. To go a little deeper: this is honestly something I struggle with probably a couple times a week because truthfully, my life would be very different if I wasn't disabled. I've said it since I was like seventeen or eighteen if I wasn't disabled I would go study in Texas, but now that I think about it I'm not sure if I would even be studying Animal Science/Equine Therapy.
A very common question among people with disabilities, I think, is "why am I like this?" which is an even more common question we're asked by children. I think these two things are closely related because again, we view disability as a problem and/or a restriction on our life.
The thing is that there's a legit answer this 'why' question in the bible, besides my classic camp answer: "because God made me like this". I grew up in the Church and have been a follower of Jesus since I was a little girl. As I grew up I knew there was a reason that I have CP but I never really knew why. I believed that maybe it was a tool for ministry. In June, I read John 9:1-3 for the millionth time and it finally hit me. The disciples assumed that this guy who was blind was being punished for someone's sin. Jesus corrected them and said, "it isn't because his parents sinned. This happened so that God's work could be shown in his life.".
In other words, disabilities are good. Disabilities exist for the purpose of ministry and to bring glory to God- the Creator of them. It's not an accident that I nearly died at birth but survived and have a bunch of disabilities as a life-long aftermath. It happened so that I could share it and people will know of His power and love for us. I think this is SO COOL!
I've been obsessed with John 9:3 for months and it helped me through a moment of frustration with kids who didn't understand disabilities. After awhile I stood up from the picnic table I was sitting at and I prayed that the kids would see Him through me- as I often do. I honestly do thank God for giving me CP. If you take away the way people treat me because they don't understand- it's a pretty amazing thing, life with disabilities.
A very common question among people with disabilities, I think, is "why am I like this?" which is an even more common question we're asked by children. I think these two things are closely related because again, we view disability as a problem and/or a restriction on our life.
The thing is that there's a legit answer this 'why' question in the bible, besides my classic camp answer: "because God made me like this". I grew up in the Church and have been a follower of Jesus since I was a little girl. As I grew up I knew there was a reason that I have CP but I never really knew why. I believed that maybe it was a tool for ministry. In June, I read John 9:1-3 for the millionth time and it finally hit me. The disciples assumed that this guy who was blind was being punished for someone's sin. Jesus corrected them and said, "it isn't because his parents sinned. This happened so that God's work could be shown in his life.".
In other words, disabilities are good. Disabilities exist for the purpose of ministry and to bring glory to God- the Creator of them. It's not an accident that I nearly died at birth but survived and have a bunch of disabilities as a life-long aftermath. It happened so that I could share it and people will know of His power and love for us. I think this is SO COOL!
I've been obsessed with John 9:3 for months and it helped me through a moment of frustration with kids who didn't understand disabilities. After awhile I stood up from the picnic table I was sitting at and I prayed that the kids would see Him through me- as I often do. I honestly do thank God for giving me CP. If you take away the way people treat me because they don't understand- it's a pretty amazing thing, life with disabilities.
Comments
Post a Comment