Birthday Reflecions

 

Today as I celebrate my birthday, I have been musing on my life.  I want to revisit something I have written in the past.  Yes, I am autistic with several limitations.  I have many things I cannot do.  However, I want to again say, I am made in God’s image.  I am not a mistake or an embarrassment to God.  I was created uniquely by God for a unique purpose.  It is a purpose only I can fulfill.  I must strive each day to obey my Creator.  I must remember I am of such value to God that He sent His Son to die for me.  So, I will continue to pursue God and His purpose for my life!  I am not perfect, I often fail. But great is God’s faithfulness!  He picks me up and sets me back on track time and time again.  I am blessed to serve God in my unique way.  Praise be to God!

Reflect Jesus!

 

I recently had the opportunity to participate in an interview with a college student writing a paper on education and the disabled.  It caused me to reflect on how my family handled my issues.  They surely were saddened by my situation, and often discouraged, but they never gave up.  They searched and found answers.  They signed on for an arduous life.  They threw away some personal ambitions to do what many said was impossible.  They taught me to try and keep trying.  I am realizing parents like mine are rare.  I see they are God ordained.  Sometimes I wonder how they did/do it.  Well, they would be the first to say it themselves, they could not do it. They plug into God’s strength and fly.  They are amazing parents because they serve an amazing God.  We continue to strive together to not only reach our potential as creations in God’s image, but to reflect Jesus day by day.  We live in a terribly broken world that needs to see Jesus.  Most are not coming to church or reading the Bible.  They are mired in their brokenness.  It means I must reflect Jesus all the time.  So must you.  Take a step of boldness and resolve to reflect Jesus.  Share His love, and let the broken world around you see hope found only is Jesus.  I dare you to try it!

See You Later, Daniel

 

Recently I had to relinquish a friend to his heavenly abode.  I have known him over thirty years.  I have daily prayed for his healing for most of those years.  You see, he was disabled, unable to walk, or talk.  We rarely saw each other, but we were friends, just the same.  His life was hard.  He had many physical limitations, as well as intellectual challenges.  Yet he did his best to fulfill the purpose God had for his life.  I have no doubt he is responsible for pointing the way to Jesus for many.  His life on this earth was short, but it was not a waste.  It was exactly as God planned it to be.  Like you and I his days were planned by a loving heavenly Father long before he took his first breath.  He did not have to fight all the distractions we live with.  He just lived as God had made him to live. I will miss him, I rejoice with him today because he is now completely healed.  No more limitations. He lives with Jesus.  I am so thrilled for you, Daniel!

Eternal Perspective

The last couple of weeks have been hard for me.  A dear friend has been diagnosed with cancer and entered hospice care.  I have prayed for his healing for years as he is also disabled.  From a human standpoint this stinks!  Big time!  I have had so many emotions pouring through my heart.  I want to scream at the enormity of this situation.  It seems more than he could bear.  More than his parents and family can bear.  More than I can bear!  But then I have to pull back and look at a more eternal viewpoint.  No one can bear this.  None of us can do this.  God is not asking me to bear it.  God is asking me to trust Him to bear it for me. He is ready to take this burden.  He sends friends to pray with me in my grief and pain.  He sent me a special cousin to share the burden, to understand.

But even more God is reminding me real, complete healing for my friend is near.  I did not think it would come like this, but God is answering my prayer.  For when my friend takes his last breath here, his next breath will be his first breath as a completely healed man.  No pain, no disability. Complete healing.

So Lord, help me keep Your perspective, and anticipate seeing my friend at the Throne someday!

Sunday Praise

We occasionally get to minister as a Fellowship of Three.  I do not think people are always ready for that.  They are used to the husband preaching and his family sitting quietly on the front row, smiling and looking and acting perfect.  Our family is different.  Oh, we are glad to sit on the front row.  We sit there because it frees up more desirable seats elsewhere.  We do not sit there because I am so well behaved.  We do smile sometimes.  My mom is quiet, but I struggle with that.  We are not usual. 

Then Dad ends sooner than expected and Mom and I join him.  Mom gives a brief testimony to illustrate the point.  Then they turn to me.  I get to finish it all off with a challenge.  I can be more direct in this culture than my parents.  I usually call for some action. 

Over the last few years this has become an effective way to minister.  It reaches hearts none of us could do alone.  It is a gift God has given us. 

Sadly, this is almost always very difficult for me because I get nervous, then act more strange.  It exhausts me to expend all the energy to do it well.  Usually I hit the car and am asleep in minutes. 

I have found however, that my weakness allows it to be all God and not Jeffrey.  I was made perfectly for my ministry.  I was not made for your ministry.  You were!  Embrace your ministry using your uniqueness to do faithfully the ministry God gave you.  Let God shine through you.

He Conquered!

I really like Christmas.  I love the lights, decorations, tree, and presents.  I love the music which can be heard randomly throughout the year at my house. ( Mom is unconventional. ) I rarely get the same thrill from Easter.  Why not?  Easter is the real base of my faith.  Jesus arose!  HE CONQUERED DEATH!  That is awesome.  I feel like I should be breaking out flashing lights, and decorations and buying presents.  This is a time to celebrate big time.  So why is all this missing in my experience?  I do not want to cheapen Easter to commercialism, but I want to celebrate with vigor this time of life conquering death.  How do I do that? 

Thinking about this celebration, I first need to prepare my heart by remembering what the cross means and how much was sacrificed for me in that event.  I think thoughtful introspection during Holy Week would serve me well.  Thinking of the events of that first Holy Week would certainly propel me to Easter in the right frame of mind.  Only after remembering the defeated sense of Good Friday, and the hopelessness of Holy Saturday can I experience the overwhelming celebration of the Risen Jesus.

I would then want to shout it from the roof tops.  I can celebrate Easter by sharing Jesus with a hurting broken world.  For you see, only Jesus can put the broken world back together.  He does it well, completely, and in His time.  Not in mine.  This year I got to spend Easter afternoon at church hosting a few of my disabled friends.  We danced a Gospel hula number that helped us see Jesus.  Our hearts were stirred because Jesus had His fingers in our hearts.  I pray the message of the Risen Jesus will ring in their hearts which have experienced so much pain and hurt in their lifetime. The hopelessness of this world for them can be replaced with the hope found in the Risen Jesus.  Hallelujah!  Jesus conquered death!  He conquered sin!  He conquered disability!

Amusement Parks and God's Kingdom

This week I had an opportunity to go to a park with my family and some friends.  This park had a portion set aside for an amusement park with rides. I always enjoy these kinds of rides.  This park, however, had some rules limiting rides disabled people could ride.  It was rather embarrassing and disappointing for me.  I know it made my parents angry. It was a form of discrimination.  While I felt frustrated and hurt by this, I determined to rise above this episode and enjoy myself.  As I thought about it I realized those park officials were imprisoned by their prejudice and narrow thinking.  I could choose to join them, or I could choose to be free and enjoy myself as God made me.  I did enjoy my day.  I chose act as an adult who was responsible and dignified all day, no matter what those park officials thought.  I am glad that God does not exclude us on the basis of our abilities or lack thereof.  When I accept God’s gift of salvation, I am not given partial participation rights because of my inabilities.  I can participate fully in God’s blessing.  The only limit I have is my own willingness to fully partake of what God so freely gives me.  Hmm….. Maybe I should choose to act as a responsible, dignified adult in God’s kingdom.