I found this post over at the blog Hurt by the Church? which contains the personal experiences of a family member whose church isolated her parents in reaction to her father's dementia. In a soul searching post, the author discusses how this experience led to many realizations.
I used to think it took sacrifice and benevolence of heroic proportions to show significant acts of kindness toward others. These days I can say that an others-oriented lifestyle comes much more naturally when my heart is *really* in the right place… I thought I was dedicated to God all along, but one look at my self-focused and self-indulgent lifestyle should have given me a clue to the contrary. As Jesus Christ said, “You will know them by their fruits.” (Matt. 7:16)
Scripture spells out the true Christian lifestyle in all the clarity we will ever need. But as my life shows (and I know I’m not the only one), our selfishness is capable of constructing the most creative (not to mention deceptively subtle) song and dance around the Bible’s painfully obvious instructions of how to love our neighbours.
To read more about the author's experiences with her congregation, go here.
The post also includes an excellent book list on the topic of disability in church communities, one of the best I've run across. The topics include mental health issues, advocacy in church settings, hospitality and more.
2 comments:
Hi, Ruth!
Thanks for linking to my article at Hurt by the Church. The spiritual changes I wrote about came after some intense growing pains and soul searching, and in a way, at the cost of losing my Dad. So it means a lot to me when the lessons I've learned also inspire others. It helps to know that my family's suffering can benefit other people, and in a way, it feels like my Dad is also being honored. Thanks again! :)
You have a wonderful blog here, to which I will return regularly. :)
i have to say I love your blog.
I look forword to reading your entries. keep up the wonderful work.
Post a Comment