As He [Jesus] passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” ~John 9:1-3
We’re taking a break from Genesis this week because I want my blog posts to parallel our Wednesday night women’s study. This week is Independence Day, so we’re off. So, today’s post is a topic that is deeply personal to me: special needs. No mother goes into pregnancy wishing for a challenging child, but I wouldn’t trade my boys for anything. God made them just right.
(If you’ve been following me for a while, this post is going to look familiar. Rather than starting from scratch, I’m adapting this from a post from an old blog.)
WHO SINNED?
Isn’t that the question with special needs.
Who gave him those awful vaccines? Who let him have too much sugar or food coloring? Who exposed him to chemicals prenatally? Who tried their hardest to give their child the best, yet messed up so badly that their child now spends their days in a special ed wing of a local school? Who is choosing not to discipline their child? After all, the Bible says “spare the rod, spoil the child.” (Proverbs 13:24) And you know that if you prayed with enough faith, he’d be healed, right?
I’ve been told all that and more in my days as a special needs mom. Ever notice how it always points back to something the *mother* did? Never the father.
God has tested my faith over and over through our special needs journey. But He walks with us every step of the way. I could answer each of those rhetorical questions, but it ultimately doesn’t matter. God made my boys just right.
WHO SINNED?
Jesus declares that NO ONE SINNED to cause this.
No one.
Not any parent. Not any child.
No one.
Can I say that again?
No one.
GOD DOESN’T STOP THERE
Not only does He make it clear that special needs are not the fault of anyone, but He says He gave that man blindness so that God could display His works.
All children are a work of God. Knit together in their mother’s womb, fearfully and wonderfully made.
Yes, all the hours of therapy are hard. But every time my child hits another milestone, we have another reason to celebrate. Sight for the blind man in the Gospel of John was a huge milestone and the people celebrated. Words for my nonverbal autistic child were a reason to celebrate.
We have several special needs people in our church, both children and adults. I love that our church community embraces this. I wish the world were so welcoming. God is displaying His work in so many ways through these people and their families. Our world values racial diversity so strongly, which is fantastic, but it’s also a beautiful thing to see people of all different abilities and ways of approaching life join together to worship our Savior. When a child with sensory challenges can worship freely next to a girl with downs syndrome and a handful of “neuro-typical” peers, it’s a beautiful thing. We were each made in His image. All of us. And He made each of us just right.