This thought came to my mind as I was part of a ministry opportunity recently. A couple I was having supper with asked a lady and her son to come over. The son is only a few years younger than me but is very incapacitated. He was in a car accident when he was 18, and he’s never been the same since. He is confined to a wheelchair and has only about 50% brain capacity. I guess that’s a demonstration of the mercy of God, because it keeps him from fully realizing what he’s going through. It is interesting that his cupholder says “this is not the life I ordered”, but I think his mom got him this (though she’s very content with what the Lord has given to them).
At supper Shawn sometimes had a hard time swallowing, resulting in some unexpected mealtime noises. Thankfully, God helped me not to be improperly distracted or disturbed by them. I know there are some handicap people who have even greater difficulty as they eat, and I am grateful that my experience was extremely mild. My heart also went out to the young man. But as I was thinking about some of the mildly unpleasant things we were experiencing, I began thinking about Jesus’ washing of the apostles’ feet in John 13. I reflected on Jesus’ service to the apostles. No doubt their feet smelled. No, I didn’t get that from the Greek. All guys’ feet smell! But Jesus didn’t allow the unpleasantness of their feet to keep Him from doing a humble act of service to them. I also need to be willing to experience unpleasantness at times in my service to Him.
After being with Shawn for the evening, I was also thankful that the Lord has not taken away the abilities He’s given me and that I can use them in service to Him. I did enjoy getting to know Shawn, too. He has a good sense of humor. He knows the Lord has died on the cross for his sins, and he really enjoys singing hymns and spiritual songs. It was such a blessing to hear of his testimony, in spite of his limited mental capacities.
On a deputation note… There are three churches that are very close to voting about support for me, and there are at least 7 others here in PA that are seriously considering me. Please pray!
