Ministry to those with Disabilities

This is part two of a two-part series with Chris Maxwell.How has your near death experience and now your life with epilepsy helped you to learn to live what you are writing and speaking about—learning to pause?Seeing my healthy body become so ill and almost dying from encephalitis, I finally began to appreciate what I too often ignored. I had to learn to do things again—things that had been simple for me before the illness. For a speaker and writer to struggle to read and write and speak and remember names was humbling. Embarrassing. Frustrating. But it was also healing, as I began to value things that mattered less before.I need self-time. I need rest. I need to deal properly with stress. I need to drink water and eat right. I need naps. I need to say no. But, that isn’t just for those of us with epilepsy. That is good practice for everyone.How can people, businesses, and churches help people with epilepsy and other health issues?We want our churches to look good and sound good while not realizing what some of those lights and sounds might do for people in need. We shouldn’t ask only, “Will applying this new trend help our church grow?” We should ask, “How would this have an impact on a family who has a child with special needs?” And, “How will the use of this technology affect a person with epilepsy?”Find a ministry that focuses on special-need families and invite them to help you make decisions in your business, your school, your church. How would your church respond if someone had a seizure during a service? Do your staff, board, and parishioners know how to help and care for people who are facing major depression, who are suicidal, who need a ride to see the doctor, who have no insurance, who are facing addictions, who are blind? Do you have trustworthy referrals?Each local church can’t do everything. Each person can’t do everything. But each can obtain a better awareness of needs, and become willing to cohort with groups who do know what to offer. Learn from them. Partner with them. Each of us can do something.Those of us who are patients with epilepsy need to know we are accepted. Be patient with our process of learning. Understand our emotions and mood swings. Know what to do in case we have a seizure. Offer to drive those who are not allowed to drive. Understand our issues, but treat us just like you would anyone else.Churches could also help caregivers of those who have epilepsy and the caregivers of patients who have any health issues. Many family members are exhausted. Give them time off. Care for us for them. The meals, the conversations, the nights away. The laughter together, the tears together, the prayers together. Refuse to let the patients or their caregivers experience life alone.Support a ministry that trains workers to support families with special needs. Ministries are bringing wonderful change in our churches to help care for those with disabilities.You can visit Chris’s page on Amazon, his website, www.chrismaxwell.me, and follow him on Facebook and Twitter: @CMaxMan. They can also email him at CMaxMan at aol dot com.