While I was writing my re-cap of the past year and some, I started to write a more up-close reflection on my summer working with people with things like autism, down's syndrome, FAS, etc. Then I realized that people would be tired of reading a that point, so I took it all out of the recap and am recycling it into this post. One way or another, people, you're GOING to hear it!

Alright. So what did I learn? Well, I was stretched. I wanted to do this because I wasn't comfortable being uncomfortable around people with disabilities. I wanted to do this because I wanted to be challenged to love more, more deeply, more widely, more comfortably, and more unconditionally. And every client I worked with demanded something different, some different form of love. Love is patience. Love always protects the other. Love is persistent, persevering, refuses to quit on someone. Love shows kindness when kindness is the farthest thing from us. If you knew the clients I met this summer, you would understand. These people will teach you love, and they will challenge you in it. And they are blessings from God in your life, if you will embrace them.

I learned about people. I was blessed to work with some great people, Twila Ross- she is a true diamond in the rough, for real; and also Vanessa Jeske, whose blog contains some very honest and beautiful reflections on her experiences this summer working with special needs adults, check it out at: www.lostcanadianinamerica.blogspot.com/2005/08/smile.html - I strongly encourage you to read it- it is very thought-provoking and true.
At the same time, though, Vanessa, Twila, and I spent the summer watching in horror and disbelief as every member of the staff jostled for position, for favor, for self-gain. I am completely unable to understand how anyone can work at a job like that and still think that it's all about THEM. It doesn't make any sense to me.

I am humbled by these clients, and rightly so. People love to lord it over others, to make themselves look good by being "sensitive" to special needs people. But honestly, this summer, I did not work for the government of MB, I worked for these people. I served them. And rightly so. Jesus NEVER tells us to serve ourselves. He never says "Go, make money. Go gain. Take for yourselves." He never gives us the impression that we deserve any of the good that we recieve. In truth, we deserve much less, much worse. We are no better than anyone else.

What Jesus would say, and Paul did say was this: Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
A far cry from my experience among the staff this summer. And clearly the most excellent way.

So we consider others better than ourselves. And we serve the poor, and the needy. And we do it in a way that reflects a belief that we are not reaching down to them, that we have no right to do so. But that we are reaching out, simply because we have been reached down to by Grace Himself. And this is the essence of our lives in Christ.

Labels: auto-biography