{"id":18877,"date":"2016-08-24T03:21:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-24T08:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/?p=18877"},"modified":"2016-08-24T07:19:32","modified_gmt":"2016-08-24T12:19:32","slug":"soul-school-lesson-46-story-heathens-received-son","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lisadelay.com\/blog\/soul-school-lesson-46-story-heathens-received-son\/","title":{"rendered":"Soul School – Lesson 46: The Story of How “Heathens” Received my Son"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to Spark My Muse!<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Welcome to SOUL SCHOOL.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

These brief “lessons” are released each Wednesday<\/strong>
\n(on “Hump Day” aka Midweek).<\/p>\n

\u2022 Come back FRIDAYS<\/strong> for intriguing guest conversations!<\/p>\n

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HOW FUNDING WORKS:
\nSpark My Muse is heard in 159 countries and costs hundreds of dollars out-of-pocket each month to create, produce, and host\u00a0online. Without help, it will go bye bye.
\n<\/em><\/span>
\n<\/span>Thank you for\u00a0ANY amount,<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>even<\/span> $5 or $10,<\/span> you can give\u00a0today.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"paypal\"<\/a><\/p>\n

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Scroll down for the AUDIO PLAYER to hear the epsiode.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

INTRO:
\nToday, I share a personal story as springboard for\u00a0something\u00a0about compassion offered in context.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Many of you might not know that my husband and I\u00a0have a special needs son named Nathan. (We also have a normally-developing daughter named Gabrielle, who we usually call “Ellie”. See photos of both of them below.) It’s been very arduous\u00a0over the years with Nathan’s myriad of challenges and a strain on the whole family in many ways. To those friends, teachers, family, and others (too many to name) who have been helpful and supportive over the years, we say “thank you”.<\/p>\n

What I am sharing today relates mainly to Nathan finding rich connection, friendship, or\u00a0being truly accepted among his self-identified Christian\/church going<\/em>\u00a0peers.<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0Acceptance\u00a0is a challenge for many typically developing children and teens. Children and teens by nature are immature, so I don’t (and didn’t) expect things to go perfectly!<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

His story is far from unique and neither is my pain as his\u00a0parent watching it unfold. In a Christian setting, we’d like to think that rejection\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0happen too\u00a0much because children might be influenced\u00a0by church teachings and leadership. Or, Children and teens\u00a0might be influenced\u00a0by their Jesus-loving parents to act in ways that loving receive\u00a0others with equality, but that was not our son’s experience.<\/p>\n

When “being a mascot” is the best your child can hope for in terms of acceptance (that is to say that being ostracized is\u00a0normal and being treated as a ” ‘Hey there little buddy!’ mascot” is a more rare but rather\u00a0humiliating experience), your context as a family<\/em>, how you help your child cope, and who shows up as your salvation, can take a surprising turn.<\/p>\n

This personal story is the springboard<\/span> for a deeper reflection\u00a0today: about how we find our way in the world,\u00a0make life better for ourselves and others, and maybe find some\u00a0healing in the process.<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

What our family’s experiences showed me was that we can provide for others best out of the context<\/strong> from which we come, eventually. Examining those needs, hurts, and context can (possibly) yield a harvest of “good fruit”, eventual healing, and service to others. And maybe (with some new awareness), as we become more mature we can be increasingly mindful to ways we distance ourselves from people we fear. We also distance ourselves from people\u00a0who unconsciously reflect parts our own weakness or insecurities back to us, and sometimes we distance ourselves from\u00a0others we deem un-preferred to our sensibilities\u00a0(or our cultures’ \u00a0sensibilities) and are unlike us. If we can begin to see this, it’s a start.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 Thanks for listening today! Blessing and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

See the show notes below for my two previous fantastic conversations on the theology of disability\u00a0and hospitality from Dr. Thomas Reynolds.<\/strong>\u00a0He offers\u00a0some truly inspiring and enlightening things in these areas that are likely to be completely new ground for you and your community.<\/p>\n

AUDIO PLAYER:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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