Special Needs is Uncomfortable

She was heading this way and I was starting to feel nervous and uncomfortable.  I knew there was a language barrier there and we would be on two different wavelengths.  There was no way I could relate at all to this person.  She had down-syndrome.

As I began to interact with her family, I could see how much joy she gave to her family.  A few hours later we were all gathered around the dinner table laughing and I could see that this person was no different than I.  She even had the most hilarious jokes.  She was certainly more aware of her surroundings than I had initially given her credit for.  This person was made in the image of God just like the rest of us.

Isn't this true of special needs?  We would never admit this but we are uncomfortable with people who not only look different than what we would classify as "normal," but also people who behave differently.  The grunting or gibberish formed into incoherent sentences is an unfamiliar language we are scared or unwilling to learn.

Internally we cringe when there is some physical deformity that doesn't measure up to the perfect Hollywood body.   We shrink back when someone's mental state of mind does not engage with us who deem ourselves to be more intelligent or socially hip.

As Christians we say we are totally against the "Survival of the Fittest" mentality yet our attitude reflects those of the staunchest nature of it.  The truth is that we're all disabled and have special needs.  Aren't we glad that Jesus loved us for who we are not on the basis of how great or small the special needs are?

Evan Dlugosz