church and people with 'disabilities'

I feel that over the past year or so God has been taking me on Journey of thinking in depth about people with many different 'disablities' which in many ways has help myself to think about Lisa and her 'disorder' in a different way and come to terms to accept it. I found while coming to terms with Lisa 'disorder' it got me thinking about people with many 'disabilities'. It was also about this time that one of my lectures daughters came to college as she is the chaplain with the down syndrome association as her son also has down sydrome. The poor girl I was asked her the " do you think the reason children are born with many 'disabilities' is because of the result of the fall. Her answer was what really got me thinking as she said yes and no. Yes because we are in a broken world as a result of sin. But no as they are still made in the image of God and God still allowed it to happen. I was so confused over this answer as I couldnt understand how one could say that people with intellectual 'disabilities' or even people with a mental illness can be made in the image of God. After class one day I started to talk to my lecture about it and things just really started to click. We do live in a broken world and unfortunately because of the fall, we live out of God's perfect creation. But at the same time, God does allow to this to happen. He could stop it but he chooses not too. But that doesnt mean that these people are still not made in the image of GOd. I went away really thinking about that. Then it all clicked to me. Lisa is made in the image of God. God doesnt like the fact that Lisa does suffer from bi polar but he still created her and so loves her and loves her for her despite her bi polar. This is also the same case for people with many 'disablities' whether they have intellectual, physical, or mental 'disabilities' They are still made in the image of God and even though he allowed it to happen he still loves the for who they are. But there is also I feel things that we can learn from these people. Often they have a understanding of God that maybe we dont have and maybe we should have. But also there is a bit of them in us. How many of us want to have a tantrum cause we are not getting our own way or want to manipulate people to get them to do what we want them to do. How many times do we want to hide away from the world for a little while and just pretend it doesnt exist? I know there are times when I want to yell and scream at people as they are being very frustrating.
when you think like this, then I think your opinion and understanding for people with 'disabilities' change as you really start to see past their 'disabilities' and spend more time in trying to understand them and the challenges that they face. You also come to a understanding that these people are made in the image of God and we as a church need to love and accept them as God loves and accepts them. God sees past their 'disabilities' and sees them for whom that they really are...God's children.
A few weeks ago, Nathan showed a dvd at church done by cbm. Something someone said there really got me thinking about this subject more. THis lady was talking about a guy who comes to their church who is in a wheelchair. He also has problem with speech. ( I wonder if he has cerebral palsy or some sort of muscle problems) She said something really powerful as she said that she had trouble understanding him but once she got to know him she could understand him and started to see his whole personality. This is when she said an extremely powerful question. She said "was it her problem that she couldnt understand him or his problem? Her answer was that it was hers. THis really got me thinking and I started to realize that I sometimes had trouble understanding a couple of people who come to church who are in wheelchairs. I realized that it was my problem why I couldn't understand them as I didn't spend enough time with them nor did I make an effort to talk to someone who goes over to their home and runs a bible study with them. If I had spoken to that person and spent time with him talking about my concerns then I would understand them better and maybe understand some of things that they say that I know doesnt make sense. One lady kept saying to me she kept trying to ring me but i never answered her calls or ring her back. I knew for a fact she never rang me but i couldn't understand why she kept saying that. The I spoke to Joseph and started to realize that is just what she does and does it to him. I stopped talking to her because of that issue but if I had only spoken to Joseph in the first place then I could of sorted the problem out sooner knowing that is just what she does. So was that her problem or mine? In the end it was mine problem.
I can also relate this back to Lisa. Is it her problem that some people have trouble accepting her or is it hers? The answer to that is it is theirs not hers.
In the end people with 'disabilities; are beautiful people are are made in the image of God and can teach us things about the image of God and God's love that maybe we don't think about
As a church we need to understand their many different needs and be flexible when needed to make sure that their spiritual needs are still being met, even if this means allowing someone who has a intellectual disability and is in their early 20's continue to come youth as that is where they feel accepted and maybe still at in their stage of life.It is only by being flexible and understanding that we can fully accept people with 'disabilities' and love and accept them as God loves and accepts them!