Grace

For today's blog I'm borrowing a concept mentioned by Dave Hingsburger yesterday. He noted the people who might make comments (from their own superior attitude) such as "there but by the Grace of God..." when challenged by their own discomfort with disability or difference of any kind. I thought a lot about this, as I frequently try to remind everyone that we are all fabulous and deserving. It's actually the concept of Grace which exemplifies this! Those people who would try to use God's Grace as some divine vehicle by which they can feel "better" than someone else in some way, clearly don't understand what Grace truly is. As outlined in The Book of Common Prayer "Grace is God's favor towards (all of) us, by Grace God enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills." Grace is God's love for us AS WE ARE, AS HE MADE US, whether that be non-disabled, or with other abilities.

I apologize to anyone who is not particularly religious, or anyone who believes something different from I. I understand my tone is rather spiritual in nature but it is not meant to exclude anyone, on the contrary, I hope to include everyone. The truth is we are each made the way we are for a reason. We each have faults (and let me clarify that having a disability is not a fault- gluttony, envy, pride, leaving the toilet seat up-those are faults), we also each have glorious gifts wherever you or I believe we receive those gifts, they are inherent in each of us none the less. Each person's gifts differ from the next, though often our faults are similar. Each of us truly are FABULOUS, and it is in that beauty that we should be relating to others, not through some sense of pity.

I heard about a man in the Pittsburgh area who visits the hospitals to bid congratulations to new parents. Congratulating a new parent is not a new concept, however he is congratulating new parents of kids with Down's syndrome, as he and all of us should. We should welcome all life, each new beautiful human being. This man does this because he has a daughter with DS and when she was born people looked on he and his wife with pity. How sad that people could be welcoming their newborn and people feel bad for them, or say things like "there but for the grace of God..." IT IS THE GRACE OF GOD THAT GIVES US OUR CHILDREN AS THEY ARE, THAT"S HOW HE MADE THEM! Fabulous through his grace!

So please, please just knock it off ! Stop feeling "sorry" for other's with different abilities or lives from your own, the only person you are appeasing is yourself when you do this, and you're not going to earn your way into God's heart by looking down on someone beautiful that He made.