The Works of God

Paul had another of his spells on Monday, and in the process bruised his right heel.  The next morning he taught me a lesson.

As he walked around the house before school, it was a pattern of grimace, smile, grimace, smile, grimace, smile, grimace, smile.  When he found his special chair and got weight off his foot, he sang.

It was amazing to watch.  I don’t think I’ve seen anything like it before.

He wasn’t trying to put on a brave face; he isn’t capable of doing that.  What he’s feeling inside comes out on his face and through his voice.  His foot really hurt, and he was really happy.

His example puts me to shame.  I would have been strongly tempted to let the world know how miserable I was over a bruised heel.  Or, self righteously, I might have ‘toughed it out’ but would have not been smiling and singing in the midst of it.

But my boy sang.  He can’t even understand his pain, and he sang.

It brought to mind Paul and Silas who were beaten, shackled and placed in jail:

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. . . Acts 16:25

Paul’s disabilities encourage him to live in the moment.  He doesn’t think a whole lot about the future or the past or about consequences.

And here are just a few of the God-honoring outcomes I’ve seen before because of his disabilities:

• He is never anxious about what he will eat or wear (Matthew 6:25)
• He is quick to forgive (Colossians 3:13)
• He expects good gifts from his father (Matthew 7:11)
• “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything” (2 Corinthians 6:10)

Today I think he added:

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.  Philippians 4:4

And to think that people feel sorry for him!