And You Will Be Blessed
I’ve had to wonder—in what way is it a blessing to welcome people who are poor and needy? In what way is it a blessing to associate with the dispossessed and identify with the ones who most people see in terms of “can’t do,” the ones who can’t walk or can’t talk or can’t see or can’t move quickly? In what way could it be a blessing to show hospitality to people who can’t?
My Body Is Not A Prayer Request
If we believe that disabled people are not whole until they cross an enchanted threshold into the afterlife, that will certainly impact the way we engage with them in the here and now. We talk about God’s kingdom as the now and not yet: the in-between space that we get glimpses of but are not fully a part of yet. Treating disabled people as image-bearers only once we get to the “not yet” impacts the now.
Detours
I imagine most of us have fairly straightforward pictures in our heads about what our lives will look like and who we will become. When something happens that is not inside the four corners of that picture, we view it as a detour and hope to get back on track as quickly as possible. So what happens when you take a detour and can't ever get back on that original path again?
Good/Hard Living
Whether it’s the sand of Lake Michigan, the joy of the first snow, a bout of sadness, or another broken down appliance, we’ll hold all the tension, grief, and sorrow of these rough years, and we’ll look for the good. We’ll look back and acknowledge: yes, that was hard, but it was good, too. We see it in the eyes of one another and the fact that the sorrow itself points to a good that was lost.
A Good and Perfect Gift
Before Penny was born, I would have assumed that an extra chromosome was just that, a crack in the cosmos, evidence of the fractured nature of all creation. But how could I imagine such a thing about my daughter? I couldn’t figure it out.
Maybe They’ve Never Seen Someone Without Feet
At just ten years old, Jude offered the antidote to shame to a crowd of four hundred misty-eyed people, most of whom were older than he and many of whom have typical bodies. Through the unexpected teacher of pain, Jude has learned what most of us will never fully understand: we were all made in the image of God, and we don’t have to be ashamed.
People Before Things
I value creating a beautiful home for my family, but I’ll never be able to hold an appreciation for beautiful surroundings too dearly. So many of our things are broken now. Look in any direction in our house and you’ll find evidence of a non-preferred task or a sensory meltdown or a time when we said “No,” before we knew what reaction that word could elicit.
A Short Story of Hope
As life continues and with it struggles and with them hope, we find ourselves losing our grips on the things we don’t even know we are holding so tightly. And yet, we finally find our rest, secure in arms more capable, more loving, more alive than our own.
Redefining Ability
We are not alone in disability. It’s a reality all of humanity shares at its core. But more than that, we are not alone in our disability because God is there with us, to show us himself in ways that are hard to see when we are blinded by the illusion of our ability.
A Mother’s Day Card
The simple words on that Mother’s Day card belied a deeper meaning, a revelation that James was developing into a little boy who recognized his life and his Mommy looked a little different from those of his friends.
The Blessing of Neediness
And while I certainly needed a lot of help to show up in the world, I like to think I did my share of helping. I’ve learned that rhythm is called the mutuality of ministry, which forces us all to both ask for the help we need and to offer the help we can give.
Survival Guide: Lisa & Eric Barlow
Life isn't over. It took me some time to figure that out, and there were moments when I had wished it was. Looking at it now, I realize that we have been able to fulfill so many of our dreams, it has just looked different than we had planned.
Survival Guide: The Smiley Family
When you go through something hard, you’ll find a lot of well-meaning people are quick to reassure you that “God never gives you more than you can handle.” But if you’ve ever truly suffered, you know that’s not true. At some point in your life, even if you think you’re ready for it, God is going to give you more than you can handle. And then what do you do?
Survival Guide: Katherine & Jay Wolf
Hope Heals seeks to re-narrate the story of suffering by sharing the lives and lessons of real people—their honest answers, vulnerable struggles, and surprising transformations through enduring life's greatest storms.