Thanks for this post! I am wrestling with these very thoughts. While I care for our daughter with special needs, I keep thinking I need to get a part time job and do something valuable - make money, make a difference. But my thoughts about this have begun to change during this holiday season.
Our daughter with special needs, Mary Addison, sees EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, as a friend to be hailed and said "Hello!" to. She will hug and kiss them if they get close enough. Some people are kind enough to say "Hello!" back, but most just look at her, then look at me and uncomfortably walk on by - not knowing what to do. However, during the Christmas holidays things changed. As I wheeled her through the malls and busy streets, she hailed everyone with a big "Merry Christmas!" Instead of awkward glances, most everyone felt comfortable and knew to say "Merry Christmas!" back. It was wonderful connecting to all kinds of folks - young and old, gay and straight, black and white, even Jew and Muslim - hailing, high-fiving, hugging. It was a time of great joy, loads of smiles, lots of love and it felt like it was exactly what we were all created to do - connect in love, in Christ. It felt more valuable and important than any job.
Posted in: Not So Fast: Practicing the Ministry of Presence
Thanks for this post! I am wrestling with these very thoughts. While I care for our daughter with special needs, I keep thinking I need to get a part time job and do something valuable - make money, make a difference. But my thoughts about this have begun to change during this holiday season.
Our daughter with special needs, Mary Addison, sees EVERYONE, and I mean EVERYONE, as a friend to be hailed and said "Hello!" to. She will hug and kiss them if they get close enough. Some people are kind enough to say "Hello!" back, but most just look at her, then look at me and uncomfortably walk on by - not knowing what to do. However, during the Christmas holidays things changed. As I wheeled her through the malls and busy streets, she hailed everyone with a big "Merry Christmas!" Instead of awkward glances, most everyone felt comfortable and knew to say "Merry Christmas!" back. It was wonderful connecting to all kinds of folks - young and old, gay and straight, black and white, even Jew and Muslim - hailing, high-fiving, hugging. It was a time of great joy, loads of smiles, lots of love and it felt like it was exactly what we were all created to do - connect in love, in Christ. It felt more valuable and important than any job.