The Works of God

Gregg Harris is well-known in Christian home-schooling circles.  Some credit him with starting the movement.  Today he also known as the father of the Christian leaders and authors, Josh, Alex, and Brett Harris.

But many don’t know that he started out life facing potentially deadly health complications:

Their little boy had three very serious internal birth defects.  For there to be any hope of his survival, he had to undergo three major surgeries within forty-eight hours of his birth.  In 1952 the procedures were dangerous, bordering on experimental.  If he survived, the doctors said, he probably wouldn’t make it past six years old.  And if he did, he would be confined to a wheelchair and need constant care. (Josh Harris, Dug Down Deep, p. 121).

And the impact on his mother?

Caring for him consumed every ounce of her energy, leaving her physically and emotionally exhausted.  Worse of all she was alone in the endeavor.  Grandpa couldn’t handle his son’s disability. . .

The daily stress was almost too much for Grandma to handle.  She contemplated suicide.  “I know that’s wrong,” she told God. And when she thought of little Gregg, she knew she had to keep living, if only for him.  “My life is like a jigsaw puzzle that’s all confused, and I can’t put it together,” she prayed.  “God, only you can fix this.” (Harris, pp. 121-2)

Doctors making pronouncements about the kind of life the child would have. A father who can’t stand to be around his son because of his disability.  A mom living on the edge for years.  A boy who suffers cruelty and embarrassment because of his disability.

Does this sound at all familiar?

This is the kind of child that abortionists would target and proponents of infanticide would say is better to kill – think of all the suffering that could be avoided!  Think of the marriage!  Think of the mom’s mental health!  Deadly, and effective, lies.

To be sure, the suffering is real.  But that is only one part of any story that God is writing.

And today Gregg Harris continues to have influence in the church and has raised boys to adulthood who write helpful books, like Dug Down Deep and Do Hard Things.

Not every story turns out like that, of course.  Our son Paul won’t be writing any books or raising any famous sons.  But God knows exactly why he made Gregg Harris and Paul Knight the way he did, and that is good enough for them to be allowed to live.