Today I’m writing somewhat of a different post…My blog is all about the saving grace of Jesus, but today I’m going to try to shed a little light on how not to be uncomfortable around people with disabilities…it’s hard, but I’m going to try…so please bear with me.
I guess the best place to start… is to let you know that I was not always disabled. To get an idea of how I “used to be” before becoming disabled and before becoming a Christian ~ you can read the very first post on this blog (My Beginning – posted on June 24).
Anyway, before I was stricken with this disease (8 yrs. Ago), I never had much compassion or empathy for the handicapped…only pity. My feeling was that I was beyond the reproach of a physical handicap….I just knew it would never happen to me.
Well, the shoe is on the other foot, and now I’m up against challenges I never thought much about before. A simply thing like walking is so incredibly difficult…just walking from my car (parked in a handicap spot), into the front doors of my church, is enough to wipe me out. So I guess that is probably the most important thing for me when I’m out.. If you are not disabled, please respect that these spots are reserved for people who really need them. There are never enough handicapped parking spots…maybe you can be an advocate?
My balance is really bad, so I walk with a rolling cane…it’s very hard to keep the balance I do have when people don’t watch where they’re going, and bump into me. My legs are weak… so for me, standing long periods of time (to me 5 minutes is long), feels unbearable…so I guess what I’m trying to say, is it’s a good idea to have a conversation sitting down when your talking to someone who is disabled. But again, that’s me…it all depends on the disability someone has.
Now for the awkward face-to-face confrontation: First of all my friends, please remember that we are all made in the image of God no matter what our physical bodies look like. Being disabled does not mean God doesn’t love us, or somehow He’s punishing us. He has a plan, and we’re all part of the Body of Christ. The Holy Spirit has put His seal on all Christians, and He has given each of us spiritual gifts. I think the best thing that someone ever said to me is… “I don’t understand, but I’m standing with you.” Sometimes it’s better just to smile and not say anything. There really is no need to say anything except “hi” if all you’re trying to do is break the silence. Because if that’s all your trying to do, then it will surely get awkward.
Here’s a comment from my earlier post about illness…
“many in our congregation… have been misled into thoughts of God’s condemnation of the disabled person… This is not a Christian thought. Some times these thought creep in my mind and I hate it..
Lori what can people do to combat this ignorance of the disabled…”
Creating awareness is what needs to happen…starting a support group for people with disabilities…posting things about disability in your church’s bulletin…passing flyers out…etc.
Don’t give up. I can suggest two great websites to help you with this…
~ Rest Ministries(restministries.org)
~ Joni and Friends(joniandfriends.org)
Links for both these sites are on my blog’s sidebar
I sincerely hope someone was helped by this post 🙂