Recently, a homeless stranger approached me for assistance to feed himself and his son. We discussed many things in our brief interaction before I said to him, “You matter, and you are a person.” His response stood out to me: “It feels good to be thought of as a person.” In that encounter, I practiced Companionship, something that can be offered to anyone we encounter.
Things That Don't Seem to Go Together - In Christmas, and In Special Needs
‘Tis the season of waiting, expecting, hoping, dreaming, and if we’re going to be totally honest, Christmas is also a time of worrying. You may think that expectation and anxiety don’t belong together, but when you look closely at the Christmas story, the story is full of things that don’t seem to go together.
When Disability Slows Down Christmas
The bustle of Christmas and the Advent season are felt deeply in the offices of churches and Christian ministries around the world. We are battling to balance productivity with meaningful reflection and the celebration of Jesus’ coming — both within ourselves and among those we serve. In this season that beckons us to find and follow our Savior, people with dementia and intellectual-developmental disabilities have life-transforming things to teach us about discipleship.
Checking Our Attachments
Empowering People With Learning Disabilities At Church
The church generally seeks to be a place of acceptance and care; we want to ensure that we look after all God’s children. But we must go further than caring for, we must acknowledge and encourage the gifts and talents that God has given to all His children, and that includes those with learning disabilities.
Autism and Communion? Yes!
Worshiping with Joel at age 11 was an interesting experience. It was not unlike sitting on the edge of your seat during an action movie, when you're not quite sure what's going to happen next—you only know something is going to happen. Then one day, during communion, a radiant look of understanding came upon Joel's face.
Disability and the Protestant Reformation
Five Stages of Spiritual Growth in Mental Illness
I’d never wish the darkness of mental illness on anyone, but if it wasn’t for anorexia, bulimia, anxiety and depression, I don’t know if I would be a Christian today. There seems to be a pattern common to many Christ-followers who also live with depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, etc. Here’s how I now characterize the five stages in my relationship with Christ, and the spiritual growth He worked through each stage to the next.