The Gift of Giving...

My mother and father-in-law spend time each week visiting Lynn. Lynn is a "40 something" year old woman who has been confined to a bed her whole life. I'm not sure what all her conditions are, but her limbs are twisted and contorted, she can only eat food that has been mashed, and she very rarely gets out of the extended care hospital facility where she lives. She can't talk, but she can communicate by making noises and facial gestures for "yes" and "no". At first glance you might think that she isn't very smart, but you'd learn quickly that Lynn has an incredible intelligence. Once my wife promised to visit her "two weeks from Tuesday". When my wife was delayed and didn't actually arrive for a visit until Thursday, Lynn had a scowl on her face. She made it clear to Angela that she had been expecting her all day on Tuesday. One other time Lynn told Angela and I that her sister Sandy was sick and that she wanted us to take her to the hospital gift shop to buy her a get well card. We did that, feeling good that we had helped out. Truth was that Sandy was just fine and Lynn got a lot of laughter out of playing us for the fools.

Sandy is a wonderful sister who has loved Lynn throughout her life. Lynn has her, and she has my in-laws. My mother-in-law used to work with Lynn and introduced her to my father-in-law over the phone once. My father-in-law, the big tough logger type of guy, was hooked at once. I've watched them as they have given their lives to Lynn over the past 15 years. And I've learned something. They give to Lynn, but they receive so much more. When Lynn lights up as they walk into the room, when she has something to communicate to them and they have to work it through (sometimes for over an hour) to figure it out, when they smile as they tell us stories about Lynn's most recent "prank"...in all these moments my in-laws are receiving blessings from God. They started out this relationship by wanting to do something for Lynn. Who would've guessed that as time went on that they would receive so much from her?

I've spent a lot of time working with people with mental and physical disabilities. One thing that I have learned is that we are the ones who are blessed by being a part of their lives. They are gifts from God that come in unlikely packages. I think that's why I was so moved by the video below. It's the story of a father who brought his disabled son along for the ride as he ran a triathlon. Take a look...



Moving, eh? Let me encourage you to open your heart to some of those "unlikely gifts" from God. I promise that you'll never be the same again.