Hidden Purposes

A student discusses fish with his teacher

I have been asked why I got into the field of teaching special education.  My answer was simple.  I fell in love with the kids.  All through high school, I believed I was going to be a top executive in a company, managing financial affairs and personnel.  I was accepted into college with a major in Business Administration.  However, everything changed for me the summer after high school graduation.  I got a job working with kids in a summer day camp, for kids with severe and profound needs.  

These were kids who couldn't talk, or couldn't walk, or needed to be fed.  The adults who cared for them often felt tired at the end of each day, with all the lifting, walking and other physical care they provided.  What struck me about these kids, was that despite all of their limitations, they had individual unique personalities that defined each of them as a person, separate from their disability.

Holly* was girl who could command the attention of every adult in the room, simply by her facial expressions and her vocal tones.  She knew just what she wanted and knew just how to get it.  We called her a princess.  David was a young man who loved be chased.  He would get up from the circle, and run away, turning back to see if there was an adult chasing after him.  Of course we did, but as we did this, he would just laugh and laugh.  Emily loved to meet new people.  She would look up into our faces, just smile and melt our hearts.  There wasn't a person there who didn't love Emily.  She was always so glad to see us.  Marcus scowled all the time, and we had to be careful that we would not be hit if we got too close to him.  He was hard to love, but we found out later he felt pain all the time.  Natalie was the one who knew how to punch my buttons and make me very angry.  She actually would enjoy watching my face turn red and my temper rise.  In fact, I was "fired" many times by Natalie.  There are other kids from that summer that I could talk about and many stories of interactions.  By the end of the summer, I had my calling.  I was going to be a special education teacher.

I still didn't have a relationship with God at this time, but I was able to see love in action.  It was these kids who taught me how to love the way God loves all of us.  It wasn't much longer that I accepted Christ and began my walk.  It was those kids who pointed the way.

I tell this story for a reason.  God created us all, uniquely and with a purpose.  There is not one individual He made that does not have a reason to be here on Earth.  Sometimes, the purpose is not so evident, but He uses all of us in our gifts and talents and in our weaknesses.  When you see an individual with a disability, look beyond the limitations and find the person.  You will be richly rewarded when you do.

He makes the whole body (of the church) fit together perfectly.  As each part (person) does its (his) own special work, it helps the other parts (people) grow, so that the whole body (of the church) is healthy and growing and full of love. ~Ephesians 4:16 (NLT) (emphasis added)

  

*Names were changed to protect identities.