Hey All,
I just recently read this essay and it has moved me deeply. This story is so similar to the story of my beloved brother, Jonathan. How this father feels towards his son is so similar to our family’s great love and affection for Jonathan. Please read it:
By Chris Gabbard
My son, August, has a number of quirks that distinguish him from the typically developing 10-year-old. He lives with cerebral palsy, is a spastic quadriplegic, has cortical visual impairment (meaning he is legally blind), is completely nonverbal and cognitively disabled, has a microcephalic head, and must wear a diaper. Moreover, he is immobile—he can't crawl or scoot around or hold himself up or even sit in a chair without being strapped in it. If someone were to put him on the floor and leave him there, he would be in the same location hours later, give or take a foot...
The rest of the essay can be found here:
http://www.chronicle.com/article/A-Life-Beyond-Reason/125242/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en
Cheers.
Tim, this was indeed a great article. You and your family have the added benefit of your relationships with Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteThere's an excerpt from a book I want to share that I think is pertinent and that you'll appreciate.
From; The Very Best of Malcolm Muggeridge
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
While he was in Bethel, Bonhoeffer's mind naturally turned towards the infamous Nazi euthanasia laws, providing for the elimination of what were considered to be useless lives. After all, the projected victims were all around him; he could watch them at work, and hear their songs. It was quite clear to him that to suppose the sick and infirm could be disposed of in this barbarous way was a worse sickness than any they had to deal with at Bethel.
As it happens the euthanasia laws never were applied at Bethel- the single exception in the whole Reich. Von Bodelschwingh resolutely refused to provide the requisite information, and, when challenged, demonstrated conclusively that at Bethel there were no useless lives. The most stricken inmates could still communicate, if not in words, then in God's language of love. The body and the mind might be maimed, but the soul remained intact.
THE MOST STRICKEN INMATES COULD STILL COMMUNICATE, IF NOT IN WORDS, THEN IN GOD'S LANGUAGE OF LOVE. THE BODY AND MIND MIGHT BE MAIMED, BUT THE SOUL REMAINED INTACT!
blessings,
Terri