All about Ability

Having a disability doesn’t mean that you are UN-able!

I think the word disabled has so much stigma associated with it that people shy away from this term, like they are afraid to label themselves broken or something.

But we all were broken, spiritually. Emotionally, physically, mentally….We all are imperfect and need to be rescued. We all need help and support to do life sometimes. For us, we are trying to accept that invisible diseases have made us less-abled than before diagnosis. We also have more restrictions than before.

My daughter, although very capable, has a pancreas that isn’t able to properly function. It is broken. Just like someone who lost an appendage or limb, she has inabilities and restrictions that cause her to learn to function without. I hadn’t considered embracing the term disabled. The word doesn’t define my daughter.

She is so many other things: a great student, a daughter, a little sister, a volleyball player, a teammate, a friend, a granddaughter, a niece, a neighbor, a cousin, a Christ follower, …. And, she is also a person with a disability, a warrior with Type 1 Diabetes, an organizer, a crafter, a life-hacker, and a thriver with Celiacs disease.
We are still learning to embrace it, but we love every part of her.

We long for a cure for her, but these diseases only have treatments. We long for God to do the miraculous and heal her physical body. We accept that she can be spiritually healed while tasked with physical burdens. We long for the moment when, in an instant, at the twinkling of an eye, she will be changed and perfected and whole someday…..beyond type 1, beyond allergies to gluten, beyond human- healed in every way. And we are thankful for the community of support who help us help her until that day.