God never ceases to amaze me. I am captivated by His sovereignty and mighty works.
When my children were little, now twenty-six (26) and twenty-four (24) years of age, I told them that God is amazing. I use to stand them in front of a full length mirror and tell them that they were “fearfully and wonderfully made.” God did not make “junk” when He made them. I also told them that they were so important to God, that He knew the number of hairs on their head before they were born! Every female is born with approximately two million (2,000,000) eggs in her body. God DID NOT make them by “mistake” and He has a purpose for their life. Interesting God chose to have that particular egg (them) fertilized. Fascinating!
God loved and loves them so much.
Several times, I have listened to prayer request on The Daily Audio Bible concerning various person’s loved ones, friends, or co-workers’ struggles with mental health issues. In reality, all of us live among children and adults with diagnosed, misdiagnosed and un-diagnosed mental health diseases and conditions.
My prayer today is to have Christ-followers, first, display love and compassion to the mentally disabled and challenged persons and their loved ones, children and adults alike, remembering that they are “…fearfully and wonderfully made…”too.
Second, pray that we respect them.
Third, pray that we don’t dismiss them as unimportant, insignificant, inconvenient ( just needing too much of out time and energy) therefore, bothersome. Find out how we can assist them and incorporate them and/or their care-givers in our everyday lives.
On that note, pray for the significant number of biological parents who physically and emotionally abandon and or neglect their disabled children and spouses. Pray for repentance and maturity to come back and be responsible, loving, patient and understanding parents and spouses. Pray that reach out and obtain education and find a support group(s) to better their lives.
Finally, pray for them and their care-givers’ short and long term physical, spiritual and emotional needs. For example, most of the time care-givers don’t take a vacation; they need to be able to take a “break ” from full-time care giving. Persons with various mental conditions also have challenges physically; someone with cerebral palsy needs dental care; that includes transporting them and all their equipment to a dental office. Ask yourself, how many attendees at church, even have “noticeable” disabilities. If they are not present, where do “they” and other disabled persons attend church? Lastly, outside of the Christmas season, think about incorporating a mentally challenged person on a family picnic, bowling night , county fair or a trip to the mall. Make them feel part of the community.
Pray and thank God for what He is doing and going to display His love through His people for the disabled and their families.
God bless you DAB family.
Kathy