I just finished watching the premiere of American Idol with John and my mom...most of the time we were shaking our head as we usually do this time of the show when so many people are allowed to go forward to this stage of the competition only to be told they are horrible and going home. This is another topic for another day, so I won't comment on the politics of the show any further!
Watching the last contestant audition gripped me in a profound way. He had a visual impairment, and an authentic gift for communicating through music, I believe even more because of his disability. Through tears, I told John that his courage to audition made me think of Cole when he is older...I pray he has confidence in who God made him and learns to use his gifts with a humble confidence as well. It also made me realize that God uses those with disabilities to speak to us in profound ways. My eyes are always wider, my ears more attentive and my heart softened when one of God's created steps out of the shadows to shine. Society often times places the disabled in the shadows, but my heart is gripped by the truth that they may be used in powerful ways to teach the "abled" what it means to live in true joy that the Lord gives...not as the world gives.
I felt a genuine calling tonight as I wept with joy over God's purpose in creating beautiful people who we call disabled. There is so much we can learn from their journey....I felt called to help amplify their voice. It is the Lord who gives them a voice, whether it is an audible voice that can be heard or a presence that changes hearts who are near. God desires for us to learn from their perspective and I believe our family has been called to bless this community and help pave the way for the rest of society to learn from their wisdom and their view of who God is in the midst of being unable to see, hear, speak or walk.
Lord, thank you for your purpose in creating such beautiful people...may we be drawn closer to You as we understand more of your character through those who may see and hear you most clearly....continue to show us what it means to love.
