I have had the pleasure of working with many beautiful people and none of them are perfect. These are people who go through life with open hearts and a-want to please others.
Who am I talking about? I’m talking about the many children and adults with disabilities that I have worked with over the years. The lessons that they can teach us are innumerable. This is what I’ve learned, so far, during that time:
- They don’t pretend to like you, they just do. Their only requirement is that you show them that you accept them for who they are.
- They don’t pretend to care about you, they just do. Their only requirement is that you show them that you care about them, too.
- They have feelings and hurts just like all of us. I have found that they are more honest than us about what those feelings and hurts are.
- They are more genuine that most of us “normal” people. They don’t have pretenses. What you see is who they really are.
- They don’t pretend that they are better than you. They just want you to be their friend.
- And lastly, but certainly not least, they want to know that they can be helpful to you in some way.
Every day, I am enriched by these beautiful people and the lessons that they continue to teach me about how to handle the differences that we see in all of God’s people in life. I like to think that God is testing us to see how we handle those with disabilities. I also like to think that they are God’s angels sent to earth to test us and for us to show our true selves in how we treat those who are not like us.
How we treat others shows the sort of person that we are. When we show compassion to another human being in whatever form that they come, then we are giving others a glimpse of our God in Heaven. God doesn’t see all of our imperfections, only humans do that. Instead, we have a God who sees the potential for what we could become, not as we are right now. (Related post: Seeing the Potential).
So, what did I learn from this? There are so many lessons to learn in life and some of my most memorable ones are the ones that involve working with others who are different than me. These individuals have shown me that beauty must go much deeper than the surface. They have also shown me not to take the simple things in life for granted. And mostly? They have shown me that love is so much bigger than hate.
What can you gain from this? Not everyone is able to work with those with a disability. Trust me, I get that! What I want for anyone who is reading this to understand, is that God made ALL OF US, special! He loves us for who we are, so, how can we not at least try to do the same for others? That acceptance of others is just a simple act that can make a HUGE impact in someone else’s life. And all you need to do? Make an effort and begin to look through life with a different lens. You might be amazed at what has, all of a sudden, become much clearer.
A Joyful Mission 