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Archive for the ‘commentary’ Category

God’s beautiful love for God’s church

Posted in commentary, Quotes on March 25, 2012| 3 Comments »

Michael Lacher lives a complicated life because of his disabilities.  That means his entire family lives a complicated life. They have chosen to live that life in the community of Bethlehem.  Michael is well known and regarded at the North Campus of Bethlehem.

Today (Sunday) is Michael’s tenth birthday.  God gave his mother, Jan, a glimpse into how he is using Michael to build up his church.

Jan sent me an email this week after the Wednesday Connection at Bethlehem, and then gave me permission to post it for your benefit and for God’s glory:

Michael celebrates (Lord willing) a decade of life on Sunday.

Last night,  I brought two Costco, chocolate (of course) cakes, along with small bottles of water to his Wednesday night connection class. I have done this over the past several years in attempts to celebrate Michael’s birthday with his peers.

At one point during the class, the team leader led the children in singing “Happy Birthday” to him.  At the end of the song, there was much gaiety and hoopla.

With much excitement, one boy raised his fist bolt-upright, and shouted, “MANY MORE YEARS, MICHAEL!!!”

I was touched.  But even more, I was taken back at his understanding of Michael’s fragility. I am ever aware of it, but 10-year-old children?  Maybe I am reading into it, but that is how I understood it.

Michael seems to have more friends than we (Mark and I) do. And I do not think it is because of delicious chocolate cake.

It is a work of God and a blessing to Michael.

This is not the first time a boy or boys at Bethlehem have done things to recognize Michael’s God-given dignity and value.  Every time I hear of such a story, I think of God’s faithfulness to his church to every generation – and this generation of boys is being prepared in ways that require a boy like Michael.  What might God be pleased to do through Michael’s life?  What courageous things might God be preparing these boys to do in faith because they knew a real boy named Michael Lacher?

Michael’s participation with his peers didn’t just happen.  Every step needed to be intentional.  Every opportunity required thought and preparation.  Jan and Mark can’t just drop him off and walk away.

But God loves his church so much he gave Bethlehem this boy and this family.  And God gave Jan and Mark (and Michael’s siblings) such a love for God’s church that they have paid the price to include their son in the life of Bethlehem.

And I, for one, am grateful to God for Michael’s life and count it a privilege to know this family.

Happy Birthday, Michael!  You are indispensable!

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Seeds of God’s grace that still encourage me today

Posted in commentary, Helpful things on March 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

God sends help in really interesting ways.

Yesterday I posted a quote from Dr. Michael Beates.

Pastor John was travelling to Florida in 1997 (I think) and met Dr. Michael Beates who was then at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando.  Dr. Beates has a daughter with severe disabilities due to a genetic anomaly, and he trusted God as sovereign and good over all things.

I wasn’t so sure about the ‘good’ part in those days.

Pastor John kindly had Rick Gamache, then his assistant, send me an article by Dr. Beates that I’ve kept for more than 14 years.  Rick included this note with the article:

I pray that God will use it to encourage you and bring you joy and peace as you trust in his precious and very great promises.

That prayer was certainly answered!

I haven’t met Dr. Beates, but we’ve corresponded a few times over the years.  That 1996 article, less than three pages long, was remarkably helpful.

Through that article, God granted me a man who spoke a language I could understand.  He used words like ‘excruciatingly painful’ and ‘harsh reality’ – words I understood but didn’t see that often in ‘religious’ treatments on disability in 1997.

Dr. Beates sent me his dissertation a couple years later and I remember thinking that I had never seen anything like it before, either.

Seeds of grace from God’s hand.  God really is amazing.

He and Joni Eareckson Tada have a new book coming out in July that I can hardly wait to see!

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“Pain and suffering are never wasted in God’s plan” – Dr. Michael Beates

Posted in commentary, Quotes on March 20, 2012| 1 Comment »

Though the truth of Scripture cannot dull the pain caused by the occurrence of genetic anomalies, when we grasp the truth of God’s sovereignty we begin to understand that pain and suffering are never wasted in God’s plan. Indeed His most important lessons are taught in the wilderness, through affliction and tribulation. Our very redemption was purchased by the painful suffering of our Savior Christ Jesus on the Via Dolorosa and the mount of Calvary.

Dr. Michael Beates, Is My Child One of God’s Mistakes?

Dr. Beates is the father of a young woman with multiple disabilities due to a genetic anomaly.

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More treasures from the past: a friend writes about disability and the church

Posted in commentary, Helpful things on March 19, 2012| 2 Comments »

I found a booklet written by Jan Lacher when she was still pretty new to parenting a child with a disability as Michael was quite young.  Knowing what Michael and the entire family have gone through since this was first written, and seeing the evident faith in Jan and Mark that has continued to grow, made the words in this little book even more precious:

The ongoing nature of Michael’s situation is daunting, but we are not without hope. What seems impossible to us is possible with God. His mercies are new every morning. I have seen his faithfulness even when things do not go the way we want them.

I am trying to cultivate an attitude of thankfulness, lest I get sucked down into the tar pit of despair. I claim the hope that is in Christ, trusting that he will work this out for our good, even if Michael’s health deteriorates.

When Michael was in the hospital after his surgery, he was sleeping in his crib; I was looking at his big, swollen head with the 40 plus staples, and God led me to John 11 which talks about the suffering and death of Lazarus. Even though there was great suffering and grief by Lazarus and his family, Jesus told his disciples that he was glad for their sake so that they would believe and that it was for the glory of God.

Meditating on this passage and others, gives me hope that Michael’s suffering is not in vain. I also take comfort knowing that as I watch Michael continue to suffer with his seizures, I have a heavenly Father who knows what it is like to have watched his son suffer, all without anesthesia or morphine.

The entire booklet can still be found online here: Creations of God Impacted by Disability: One Mother’s Thoughts.

And I even found an early draft!

I’d like to see this booklet updated and posted as an ebooklet.  What do you think?

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Memories of God’s care

Posted in commentary, Scripture on March 15, 2012| Leave a Comment »

On Tuesday Pastor Sam from Bethlehem blogged this:

“The next time the devil reminds you of your past, remind yourself of his future.”
—Anonymous clipping I found this past week in a file while looking for something else

I enjoyed that.  It was helpful.

That evening I began a project to rid our home of some of the clutter.  My task was going through old file folders filled with paper we hadn’t looked at for years.

Some of it was encouraging, like an old article by Dr. Michael Beates I’m going to scan and post here someday.  Some was embarrassing, like seeing myself quoted in an article from Parent Magazine in 1997.  And some was troubling, like an article I kept for some unknown reason that completely denied the sovereignty of God over hard things like disability.  I don’t like remembering that part of my history.

And then there were the medical bills.

Our youngest son was born prematurely in 2003 and spent time in the neonatal intensive care unit.  I held four pieces of paper that totaled more then $80,000 in bills, and that wasn’t all of the expense associated with his early days.  After the insurance coverage, the remainder was still more than we could afford.  Yet all of them were paid.  I can’t even remember how.

I found an old medical report from Paul’s geneticist.  The sterile language that described him and the cause of his disabilities was crushing at the time (and ultimately it was still just a guess on her part). Yet today I hardly recognize the boy she described – she saw so little of who he really is.

Pastor Sam’s quote is helpful.  I know Satan uses my memories against me; I can’t deny I did those things or thought those thoughts.

Because of Jesus, there is more to the story:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV)

And it is kind of God to use a stack of old papers to remind me how much he has already brought me through, along with the sure knowledge that everything he has promised for my future, he will do:

“Remember this and stand firm,
recall it to mind, you transgressors,
remember the former things of old;
for I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me,
declaring the end from the beginning
and from ancient times things not yet done,
saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,
and I will accomplish all my purpose,’
calling a bird of prey from the east,
the man of my counsel from a far country.
I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;
I have purposed, and I will do it.”
Isaiah 46:8-11 ESV

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When does love happen?

Posted in commentary, News on March 14, 2012| 1 Comment »

The recent decision to award an Oregon couple $2.9 million from a ‘wrongful birth’ lawsuit has left me feeling like there’s actually some good news embedded in this story.

Four years ago a little girl was born with Down syndrome.  Her mother had received testing and would have aborted her little girl if the results had shown evidence of Down syndrome.  But somebody made a mistake with the test, the mother was told her baby was fine, and the little girl was allowed to live.

So the couple sued, stating they now needed significant financial resources to care for a girl who they otherwise would not have wanted before she was born.  A jury agreed.

Here’s the good news from that article:  “These are parents who love this little girl very, very much,” Miller said (their attorney). “Their mission since the beginning was to provide for her and that’s what this is all about.”

I don’t know if ‘that’s what this is all about’ or not. Comments and blogs have vilified these parents for their openness about wanting to abort.  Yes, I find their initial thinking about abortion to be horrifying as well.

But somewhere along the way they learned to love this child.  She went from being unknown to being known.  She entered a family and was given a name.  And today she is loved.

Abortion is an act of violence against a small human being who cannot defend herself; that is reason enough to be against it.  But it is also a final act – that small human being will never be known.

Those of us who have already decided against abortion are frequently dismissed as deluded or guided strictly by manufactured sentiment – of course we’ll see value in and love a child with disabilities.

But this couple was willing and preparing to abort if disability was found – yet love their child today. They cannot be dismissed by abortion proponents so easily.

So I’m praying that the one line – “these are parents who love this little girl very, very much” – will burst like a spotlight through the darkness of another mom and dad considering aborting their child with Down syndrome.  May they see that she isn’t a thing to be discarded but a little girl to be loved.

Yes, disability is expensive and complicated and difficult.  Most people will struggle with seeing only a disability and a not a real human being.

But this couple have said it – they love their daughter!  Not a clump of cells with a genetic anomaly, a little girl!

“Wrongful birth” lawsuits are ridiculous. A decision has been made in Oregon and I hope the medical system fights it.

But let us rather focus on what God has done for this couple and is prepared to do for others in making evident that even the child with disabilities can be loved for who she is.

And let us get rid of evil laws and systems that actively seek to destroy such children before they are given the chance to be known and loved.

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Lord, please use this young man to save babies.

Posted in commentary, News on March 13, 2012| 1 Comment »

The young man in the ad below lives with a developmental disability.

The advertisement reads: You’re one of a kind. Learn more about SNBC disability coverage at medica.com/oneofakind.

There’s more information about the young man at Medica’s website.

The Robbinsdale Clinic P.A. is an abortion clinic.  They point out that “Our location in Robbinsdale, MN, a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, is convenient and easily accessible by either the MTC bus services or automobile.”

The newest Planned Parenthood clinic in Saint Paul is ‘conveniently’ located on major MTC bus lines and the new light rail system.

The Meadowbrook Women’s Clinic, another abortion clinic in Minneapolis, states “Our location offers convenient access to and from major freeways such as 35W, 94, 394 and highway 55. Bus stops and the light rail are within walking distance.”

I know Medica and their ad agency, LEVEL, didn’t intend that bus ad to be used in the fight to protect children with disabilities.

But wouldn’t it be great if God used it to wake up mothers and fathers to the inherent dignity and humanity of their unborn children, even those diagnosed with disabilities?

Lord, please, use even this bus ad to break through the darkness and the lie that children are expendable and a burden.  Use Peter to save more babies, for your glory and for our good.

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“There is hope!” Greg Lucas

Posted in commentary on March 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Greg, author of Wrestling with an Angel, doesn’t write often enough (in my opinion).

You’ll understand why I say that from his response to a horrific story about a mother who killed her disabled son that captures the darkness of despair and the hope we have when we are held by God himself:

We’ve all been there. We are fathers and mothers and men and women and children who have walked through this valley. We know this darkness well.

We also know the only light that can shatter this darkness is the light of the gospel. And so for us, the “If we had known…” has turned into “We now know…”. And because we know, we will proclaim the hope of the gospel to these desperate, hurting, and often hope-less families.

If you are reading this today, I want you to know that there is hope. No matter how dark it may seem–there is hope. No matter what you have done–there is hope. No matter how unknown your future may be, there is a gracious God that has gone before you to prepare the way. He stands with outstretched arms proclaiming through the cross of His Son, “there is abundant hope waiting for you!”

You can read the entire post here, There is Hope!, along with the 25 passages from scripture to show where that hope is anchored.

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Show up and prepare somebody else for this life (and maybe save a life while doing so)

Posted in commentary, Quotes on March 8, 2012| 3 Comments »

Thank you to Justin Taylor for pointing to Mark Leach’s article, When Being Pro-Life Isn’t Enough to Stop Abortion.

I read Mark Leach’s article just a couple of days after talking with a young man I know who is about to have his first child.  When I asked how his wife was doing, he said that they had just been talking about my family as they wondered about their own baby.  They talked about the possibility of disability – and the fact that they want this child in their lives however he or she comes.  That was a moment of sobering joy for me.

Knowing this young man the way I do, I have no doubt he would welcome his child if he had disabilities “as sorrowful yet always rejoicing” even if he didn’t know me or Paul.  He is much more grounded in the sovereignty of God over all things than I was at his age.  But I also believe that God uses my Paul to prepare others for the potential reality of disability in ways that are encouraging, even as we don’t even attempt to hide how difficult some aspects of our lives are.

I know church can be hard, but if at all possible, show up.  Attempting to ‘do’ church with a child with disabilities is complicated, sometimes frustrating, and even overwhelming.  Yet the very presence of our families makes a difference!  When Paul was really little and we returned to church, I watched one family from afar who have a child with Down syndrome.  I never even approached them. Paul doesn’t have Down syndrome, but just knowing there was another dad walking around with a disabled child was a comfort.  It was only recently that I had the chance to tell that dad the impact he had.

Our children matter, and people can see that when we show up with all our complications and embarrassing behaviors and strange noises.  And by doing so we help plant different seeds in people’s minds.

We must plant those seeds, we simply must, as Mark Leach pointed out in his article:

Mothers who have terminated following a prenatal diagnosis overwhelmingly (97 percent) report that these are wanted pregnancies. Furthermore, they say that they consider themselves to be, in fact, mothers, and that their fetus is not simply a fetus, but their child. Yet they still go through with aborting their child.

The challenge is not convincing mothers that their child prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome is in fact a child, having moral status, and therefore having the same right to life as any other human being. Consider why these mothers say they aborted: the burden on their other children; the burden on the child itself; fear that they could not care for the child; and fear that society would not support their child. One study found that “the lack of access to care was often given priority over strongly held ethical positions, such as those on abortion.”

They wanted their children, but they were afraid. Nobody I know will say that the burden isn’t real; that would be both false and foolish.  And the fears are real as well.  The happier statistics Mr. Leach quotes elsewhere in his article pale in comparison to those darker images virtually everyone has about disability.

But that dark hole of assumptions is missing a key ingredient – an actual living human being who we can touch and observe and engage, and real siblings who have to live a different kind of life, but not necessarily a bad life, and the realization that society really isn’t interested in that child, but that God is intensely interested and ready to “supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

So, if you can, show up and demonstrate how big God is and pray for God to do something we might never know about. May God use us to drive down that statistic of wanted-but-aborted children, even one at a time.

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Real harm is done to us, not just to them.

Posted in commentary, Quotes on March 7, 2012| 2 Comments »

Some argue that killing an unborn child or a new-born child does not actually do anyone any harm. Emphases in bold are mine:

If a potential person, like a fetus and a newborn, does not become an actual person, like you and us, then there is neither an actual nor a future person who can be harmed, which means that there is no harm at all. So, if you ask one of us if we would have been harmed, had our parents decided to kill us when we were fetuses or newborns, our answer is ‘no’, because they would have harmed someone who does not exist (the ‘us’ whom you are asking the question), which means no one. And if no one is harmed, then no harm occurred.  Giubilini and Minerva, “After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?” in The Journal of Medical Ethics, 2012.

Just for arguments sake, let’s set aside the fact that a child is destroyed.

Someone is still harmed.

Everyone else.

Because children are a reward, not a curse or a commodity:

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
(Psalm 127:3 ESV)

 

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