The Last Kiss

Things just aren't working out too well today. I went to start my car this afternoon and evidently the battery is low. Am waiting for my on-call son-in-law mechanic to come by later on and give us a charge. Hope it's nothing major.

Of course, this entire situation is minor compared to a school shooting that happened in an elementary school today in Connecticut. It's all so tragic, losing that many young children all at once. The families involved must be suffering tremendous grief, and most will for a long time.

It helps to put our own lives' problems in perspective and see that they are nothing compared to what some are suffering.

When my caregiving seems more than I can handle, I try to look at it from the perspective of not having anyone to give care to. It gives me the strength to go on, to keep plugging away at our challenges. Those challenges are my purpose for living. I'll not complain, but thank God they are there.

I think a lot of us will give an extra kiss to our loved ones tonight. It could very well be our last.

The Biggest Barrier

A politician once said, "The moral test of government is how it treats those who are in the dawn of life...the children; those who are in the twilight of life...the elderly; and those who are in the shadow of life...the sick...the needy...and the disabled." I believe this is the moral test of a church as well.

This afternoon, as our church's disability awareness leader, I was looking on the internet for information about several disabilities and trying to plan how our church can recognize and even celebrate those in our church who are in the throes of challenges that we often don't even know exist.

Another quote I found quite revealing was "The biggest barriers people with disabilities encounter are other people." I pray that, as Christians, we can help our fellow church members climb their barriers, instead of being one. Love and compassion that comes from God can make that climb possible.