Hi.
I'm so glad you found this site, and I pray that it equips you as you serve in your home and your church.
I'm a Christian. I'm also a wife, mom, and ministry leader, in that order. I blog about our family at
Dinglefest.
disability and disease in my life
I stumbled into the realm of disability and disease in several ways: in elementary school when I rocked the IEP for years due to severe speech impairments, in the summer of one of those years when I hung out under Mississippi magnolia trees as my mom nursed my Pops through end-stage lung cancer, in high school when my friend on the swim team needed someone to help include her because she couldn't hear, in college when I worked at a preschool program for children with developmental delays resulting from prenatal drug exposure, after graduation as I taught kids with a range of disabilities in public schools in Texas and North Carolina, and in consulting as I developed training materials for new special ed teachers.
Somewhere along the way, I earned my MAEd in Special Education, specializing in learning disabilities and autism, but all my experiences before that and since have taught me far more than my formal education ever could.
disability and disease in the church
When it came to church, though, I didn't notice that my church didn't include the kids and adults I loved. It took a God-ordained assignment of a little guy with Down syndrome to my Vacation Bible School class to make me realize how much my church was failing to truly include image bearers like him. Shortly after that, my husband and I started coordinating Access Ministry, the special needs ministry of
Providence Baptist Church.
In that role, we've gotten to be the church and love the church in deeper ways that we knew were possible. We have poured more of our time and energy and selves into Access Ministry than any other ministry area, and we have received more in return. This truly is our passion.
disability and disease in our family
After the birth of our first child, my body... well, it broke. A couple of autoimmune disorders sprung up unexpectedly, including rheumatoid arthritis which permanently damaged my hands and knees, though - praise God - effective treatment has it under control most of the time. Some days I limp, and other days I swallow pills or get IV treatments... all reminding me that God's glory can be demonstrated well in my weakness.
Then, throughout 2012 and 2013, we added a few more layers of perspective to our role as Access Ministry coordinators: parents of children with special needs. In summer 2012, we added a precious daughter to our family via special needs adoption; she's a gal who has a lot of spunk and a diagnosis of cerebral palsy and a now-healed heart defect. In fall 2012, our son had a grand mal seizure, which eventually led to a diagnosis of childhood epilepsy. About a year later, in fall 2013, we added a sibling group of three to the family via adoption, one of whom has HIV and became more familiar with some of the emotional needs that are common among children from hard places.
(If you're keeping track, that means we went from two children in June of 2012 to six children by October of 2013 and no special needs to multiple diagnosis in that same time period. If you take a look at the blog history, you'll see a long pause during the same stretch, because my writing had to take a backseat to family matters, for obvious reasons!)
disability and disease on this blog
I started writing here for three reasons:
- Writing helps me think. At the time I started blogging, we didn't have a solid team in our church's Access Ministry, so we had no one to think out loud with. So I wrote out loud.
- Writing connects me with others. I love learning from the parents and ministry leaders and people with disabilities and others who comment or email or tweet in response to what I write. It was through this blog that we connected with folks who God used to stir our hearts toward considering the international adoption of children with special needs.
- Writing is needed in this area of ministry. Google "children's ministry blog" or "youth ministry blog" or "women's ministry blog," and you'll get a lot of hits. When I started this blog - and even now - not much came up for "special needs ministry blog" or "disability in church."
And I keep writing for all those reasons.
one last note...
You're here for a reason, and I'd love to know what your passion is. Leave me a comment on a blog post, or email me at shannon@theworksofgoddisplayed.com - I'd love to hear from you!
