For those of us with loved ones who live with severe cognitive impairment, it can be frightening to live in an American culture that so highly values ease, transitory wealth, health, and beauty.
Some people ... will even say out loud what many people are thinking: that person is so limited by disability he or she isn’t really a person; I would rather be dead then live like that; they are useless.
God provides a clear response:
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable . . . (1 Corinthians 12:22).
I can say with certainty that my son, Noah, has been and continues to be indispensable to me. When I consider what he has done for me, I know that what I owe him is far beyond my ability to repay. I have learned from many excellent pastors, teachers and Christian brothers, but none of them revealed to me so fully the stark truth of my own sinfulness, cowardice, weakness and my desperate need for grace like my son has.
In Noah, God has demonstrated that out of his love for me he gives gifts that transform me day-by-day to be a little more like Christ for the glory of God and everlasting joy for both me and Noah.
