Can you imagine that happening to you? Can you imagine not only having to live with a severe disability, not only falling and hurting yourself, but then being told you have to leave your home immediately? Can you imagine being overwhelmed by the fear and pain of a disintegrating physical disability, yet in the midst of that being required to locate a facility that is willing to accept you as a resident and move all of your belongings?
I have witnessed this man's struggle for months with wheelchair problems, having difficulty locating a chair that would meet his needs, and that he could obtain without means. Having the battery fail on his power chair at a party, and having to sit plugged into a wall outlet to charge the battery while others were dining, dancing and singing. This seemed harsh enough to endure without the added realities he was now facing.
If you can't imagine something like this happening to you, I hate to be the one to tell you, but this story could be very like what you will experience one day yourself. You may ask, why do I say this? You may answer that you have no disability of any kind - neither physical, mental nor developmental. The answer is simply this: I say this because you, my friend, are one of the temporarily able bodied.
Never thought of it that way? Well, it is true. Every single one of us will experience disability at some point in our lives. Every single one of us will experience what it's like to no longer be able bodied, no longer be able to fend for ourselves, no longer able to survive without help. Just as we were once helpless and dependent as infants, so we all will once again be helpless and dependent on others as adults. It just happens to some sooner than others.
Will we have loving, caring, thoughtful caregivers when our time comes? Will people listen to us patiently as we struggle to explain our experience and gain the assistance we need? The reality I see in the world is that many are not listened to, many are not cared for, and if they are it is minimally and brusquely - with little regard for feelings. Even those who have the loving support of devoted family may encounter the insidious effects of compassion exhaustion in our loved ones; they may want to be there for you but feel overwhelmed by the burden of long term disability emotionally, physically, financially. It happens. It happens a lot.
As Christians we have been charged with the duty to care for each other, and we endeavor to do that to the best of our ability. We try to reach out to those less fortunate and lend them our strength.We try to lift them up as we have been lifted in our time of need, and will be again when we are no longer one of the temporarily able bodied. Those living with disabilities are a gift to us from God. Through them we glimpse our own vulnerability in this world, our own need for each other, and for a loving God.
At Bridge we see the glory of God revealed in many ways: When a volunteer in our Mobility Ministry helps recondition a donated wheelchair to give to someone in need, when a volunteer at one of our events in our Spiritual Care Ministry listens to a guest share a difficult experience or a joyful one, when a volunteer in our Guardianship Ministry assists with the mountain of paperwork that is needed to help someone who lives with a developmental disability live independently. In these and many other ways, our volunteers make a difference in our world. They improve the quality of life for all of us, by helping make this a world in which people are cared for.
In the Book of John Chapter 9 there is the story of Jesus healing the blind man. In the story his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him."
So remember, when you lend the strength you presently have as a temporarily able bodied person to someone living with a disability, you embody the spirit of Christ. Through you He lives among us and blesses us with His love. Through your efforts the works of God are displayed in the lives of people living with disabilities.
