Misunderstood

"The Lord appeared to Solomon
in a dream and said, "Ask anything
of me and I will give it to you."
Solomon replied, "Give me
an understanding heart..."
-- I Kings 3:6



Misunderstood…

It’s an estrangement we’ve all felt, an emptiness we can all empathize. Yet nowhere does misunderstanding strike so deeply, nor affect life more critically as it does with the unborn, the disabled, the aged. Perhaps it takes a special effort, then, to truly understand their plight.

* * *


Lord, help them see
the real person of me…

In all of God’s creation, I am Miracle of Miracles. I am LIFE, though small and just beginning. Totally human, yet totally helpless -- innocent! -- when Jesus spoke of “the least of these my brethren,” surely He was referring to me:

“…Whatsoever you do…”

Perhaps if wombs had windows, then your faith would not be tested. Maybe then you’d understand. You could view my mysterious unfolding and discover me as one just like yourself.

For I, too, have ten fingers and ten toes -- however tiny -- and a heart that began it’s beating when I was only 18 days old. I feel comfort and discomfort, and I alter my positions accordingly. My sleep is filled with dreams! I’ve grown accustomed to the lullaby sound of my mother’s heartbeat, and I’m affected by her strong feelings. They touch me here and change my moods.

I’m already one among you -- responsive, learning, however unseen. And I am growing so fast! You would be amazed…

My miraculous beginning came at conception, though you insist birth, for it’s at conception that I began my autonomy, growing and developing in secret. Birth is merely the celebration, the accumulation of all that’s gone on before. Birth only changes where I live, and the ease with which you perceive me -- my charm. It doesn’t change me at all.

For, you see, already I am…

Begun in our Father’s image, I cannot be simply erased. My life is reality; here now to be dealt with. Either people will live with this truth -- will accept me and nurture me to fullness -- or they must live with my death. There really is no other choice.

If problems surround my beginnings, our Father has sent you to help. Extend yourself, please… After all, the problems, they’re only temporary.

I’m not…



* * *


Lord, help them see
the whole person in me…

When you look at me all you see is my disability. You don’t see into the REAL me -- my wholeness, my thoughts, my soaring dreams…

If all you see is my disability, you’ll never move over for me, you’ll never take me seriously. If you never grow beyond your own uncomfortable feelings, past the obvious differences between us, then I’ll never be REAL to you.

If I become a doctor, you won’t come to me. If I work as a checkout clerk, you’ll choose another line. If I learn to best express myself in beautiful artistic items, you will never browse long in my presence. If, in my loneliness, I crave your attention, you will never fully meet my glance, return my smile; you’ll never really listen when I talk.

There is so much more to me than just my disability. I have healthy and whole places inside of me screaming for recognition, longing to be shared. These God gave to me, the same as He did to you, that I am called to express and expand.

We've been designed to enrich each other, to compliment each other’s gifts. I have purpose! I have destiny! We both have difficulties! See, …we are not so very different.

Wheelchairs, appliances, medications and other aids help me to overcome physical barriers. Your blindness, however, remains my life’s greatest obstacle.

I need you to know that my special needs are not so very complex. If it weren’t for your discomfort, in fact, I would gladly explain them.

PLEASE: Pity sees need, but at arm’s length. It takes compassion to reach out and touch. Don’t pity me. Don’t add to my life’s obstacles. Just accept me, invite me, get to know me, …the REAL me.



* * *


Lord, help them see
the same person still me…

You look at me and see old age, but I need you to know that inside this body riddled and worn by years, I haven’t changed at all. My heart still seeks, and sighs, still giggles, and grins, and cries, and inside I keep pace with the rest of the world. Only nobody notices.

I have become the invisible among you, pushed aside, patronized. You fear your own December! You’re taking that out on me!

It is true that my days are more difficult now. Simple wellness has become a demanding exercise, an elusive quest. My life’s greatest pleasures slowly wean me away… I can’t eat what I want. I’m not needed at work. Even my children, they’re busy…

What wisdom I’ve gained, so very few find the time to hear. My needs become burdensome. I get so lonely!

Daily the people I love pass away and leave me to grieve and to wonder… And death taunts me, too, as an icy chill of fear in the night, a dull aching here, a new numbness there…

Yes, it's certainly true that I CAN count many more yesterdays than tomorrows. And, yes, this body does tire easily and sometimes moves slow. It fails me… It hurts me! Sometimes it embarrasses me. And sometimes I do need your help.

But the me that you see is not the me that I am. LOOK DEEPER! Time has played a terrible trick on me. It has oh-so-gradually encased me -- my spirit -- in this awkward costume of age.

My age is my challenge; it is not my identity. And it’s a struggle that, some days, requires heroic strength. Your love is my fuel for the fight. I need you -- your affirmation, your affection -- now more than ever!

I need to remain one among you…

PLEASE: I now know just how short this life really is. I have no time to waste. And neither do you…



* * *



“HUMAN COMMODITIES:"

“Human Commodities”: What a incredibly chilling concept! Even today, who would ever consider putting price tags on people? And yet we do…

Maybe not consciously, but in all of our hustling and bustling about, the values we live permit the lives of some people to suffer serious dilution, to be treated as less than human.

* The unwanted unborn
* Those who suffer disabilities
* The aged

And there are many other groups as well. --The poor, racial and religious minorities, homosexuals -- anyone outcast, marginalized, ridiculed, bullied, or denied fair access because any unmerited condition or station in life.

And it’s all such a tragic misunderstanding! Because INSIDE we are all connected, and we’re all called to live this connectedness deeply, each of us to each other, and each one of us to God.

There are many common bonds that bind us. We share the same beginnings, the same end, and the middle -- for each of us -- is strikingly similar.

We were all created in our Father’s image and are heirs to His very own worth: PRICELESS! We must then work to safeguard this truth, each for each other, that it will survive to protect us all.

For each of us will endure our seasons of need, of dependency, of exploitation, of being inconvenient…

How can mere mortals ever be trusted to create wise and complete yard-sticks, to measure the worth of humanity? Exactly where did we loose sight? Consider:

* A persons “productivity” determines their fulfillment, not their worth.
* “Wantedness” is such a fickle measure.
* "Success” may be no more than today’s mirage...

Only truth is whole and timeless. It is our relationships to God and to other people that alone reflects our greatest good, that satisfies our deepest needs.

For we are all people of the highest call: To live our lives centered in God. To become real reflections of His love to all our world. To extend ourselves fully; to provide meaningful care. To grow, to become an ever deeper people. To share fully in each other's suffering and strife. And to struggle hard to really love, to truly understand.


“If you cannot see the Lord
in the very next person you meet,
it is useless to look further.”
--Gandhi