I’ve always found it strange that inclusion isn’t the norm. Instead of loving others as they are, we expect them to mold into the “norm” that able-bodied people live in. I’ve always found it sad and confusing, that people with disabilities don’t have the same opportunities that able-bodied people do. No, this post is not written as a pity party, for those who are disabled, but rather as a reminder both to those of us with disabilities, as well as to society, that we were created uniquely and wonderfully by the God of the universe. That we don’t have to fit in with the world to be good enough.
In Luke 9:1-3, the disciples ask Jesus about a blind man, and whether he has sinned. Jesus replies to them in verse 3, stating, “Jesus answered, ‘It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him’.” Those of us with any kind of disability, have faced many challenges, but yet, we choose to keep going, to keep pushing forward, despite the fact that we live in a world not inclusive to us. Whether we realize it or not, by simply choosing to keep pursuing our dreams and living our lives the best we can, we are putting God on full display for others to see.
In Mark 10:14-15, it reads, “But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it’.” Jesus is showing admiration for childlike faith over adult understanding. It shows us that Jesus welcomed all people, and that he saw the beauty of being like a child. So many of the children and adults I work with as patients and clients do not have the intellectual or mental abilities of their peers, but those are the ones who I always see pure light shining through. They get excited about everything; they take genuine interest in every little thing, when so many without disabilities miss the bigger picture, that lurks in what most people deem as plain or ordinary.
God has a purpose for making each one of us, for creating us just the way he did. We see this in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope”. Everything that God plans for our lives is designed to help us fulfill his will for our lives. In Exodus 4:11, God says to Moses, “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord’?” If the same God who designs us all so differently, uses every little thing for our good, will he not use these imperfections to bring goodness to our lives and for his glory? I always hear people say that they feel bad for people with disabilities, but I’m never really sure why. God designed and created us in his image, disability or not, and we are fearfully and wonderfully made. None of us were designed in man’s image, but in God’s alone. Just because society created standards as to how we should look, think, and act, it doesn’t mean that we are less than just because we don’t conform to how the world says we should act. We will not be remembered by how much we fit in, but rather by the rebellious act of not just living, but thriving in a society that says we shouldn’t be able to. When we know the one who, in our weakness, makes us strong, we are unstoppable. And nothing, not even ableism will hold us back.
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