Kids have a special place in my heart. That may be part of the reason that I wanted to be a pediatrician growing up. That may also be part of the reason that when my pursuit of entering the medical field didn't work out (that's a whole other story in and of itself) I chose to go into Early Childhood Education. While learning the ins and outs of being a teacher I was introduced to another aspect of the education system, one that I never thought I would be directly involved in for an extended period of time. The summer between my freshman and sophomore years of college, I was introduced to the world of special needs. It is a world that has completely and forever changed the way that I look at life. Working at Special Friends Camp and meeting those that attended year after year redefined what it means to have faith like a child and then worship like one, in spirit, truth and purity of heart with no regard for what others think. For many of them following Jesus is easy because He is all that they have. Jennifer Toledo put it the best when she said that they "take everything at face value". Faith is not complicated to them, it's simply a way of life. I think of people like Gail and Jeff who were born with their disabilities and others like David and Paul who, through a series of unfortunate events, became disabled later in life. In both of these instances, when it would be easy for these people to complain about their situation and curse God for dealing them this unfavorable hand in life instead they chose thank Him for opportunity that they have been given just to live another day. Over the last couple of years I said several times that it would be my last year but this what kept drawing me back year after year. Because I began the World Race last month, I was unable to attend Special Friends Camp this year, essentially ending that chapter of my life. During this month in San Pedro I got a special reminder of my days at Special Friends Camp when I was able to sit in on a local special education class. Being with these kids reminded me of how much those two weeks during each of the last 10 summers as well as the 4.5 years that I spent working full time for the Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes at Rainbow Acres in Knoxville meant to me. It broke my heart to see that, even in foreign countries, this population is often forgotten about and pushed to fringe of society when they have so much to offer. At the same time it brought me so much joy to see that there are people in these countries that care about this group of people just as much as I do.
Many of you know how much I enjoy reading and listening to John Piper. Even though I don't quite agree with all of his theology (he's reformed, I'm not) his books and podcasts have still been a huge influence on my walk with Christ. In one of his video podcasts for The Gospel Coalition he said that "God doesn't make material things to waste them". I believe that this is especially true of people with special needs. God created them just the way that he wanted them in the exact same way that he created those of us without disabilities in the exact way that he wanted us. We have so much to learn from them and they are eager to teach us. Be open to listening to those around you that you might not expect have something to say, they might just blow your mind.
