Hi, I'm Joni Eareckson Tada and it’s Heart for the Disabled week!
And here's how we celebrate Heart for the Disabled: I tell you a few details about a mom and dad of a disabled child, or a couple with a disability who attended one of our Family Retreats last summer, and you -- bless your heart -- send that family Valentine card or a note with Scriptures for encouragement, or maybe jot a letter, tucking in a favorite poem or words to a hymn. Then you send me your card, and we bundle it up with others who sent in notes and we send it off to that family to arrive on Valentine's Day. You, friends, really caught the vision last year, but this year we need you to step it up because, boy, do these special needs families require encouragement right now so much because it's been a long time since last year's Family Retreat, and the day-to-day challenges of that disability, well... they're pretty overwhelming.
And today I'm thinking of Chuck and Debbie who, after their own children were grown, decided they wanted to adopt. First, they adopted three of their foster children who had special needs, and then they adopted four more, all sisters and brothers. So count them up… six of their seven adopted children have special needs, and all these boys and girls range in age from two years old to ten. I think you can see Chuck and Debbie really have their hands full. But bless their hearts, these kids with disabilities were just languishing in the system… they weren’t very “adoptable,” shall we say… but bless Chuck and Debbie’s hearts, they stepped up to the plate, they stepped into the gap and these seven children are proudly theirs.
However, Chuck and Debbie are in their 50s now and they are dealing with the reality that they may never really have an empty nest. Can you imagine a couple in their 50s with seven kids ranging in age from two to ten years old? It’s why this family took part in two—count them -- two of our Family Retreats this past summer. During the retreat, Chuck and Debbie just loved date night (that’s where our volunteers take care of all the disabled children so that mom and dad can dress up and be pampered by candlelight and music and a high class dinner with all the trimmings). Debbie told us later, “You know, those date nights are about the only time my husband and I have together to just stop and talk. We love it.” Wow! Our Family Retreats have given this couple a safe environment to talk with other adults raising special needs kids. They get spiritual refreshment, they get into God's Word, they understand disability from a biblical perspective, they get parenting tips… but what really took their breath away were all the volunteers we assigned to their children. Debbie and Chuck just couldn’t get over the non-stop love their children received… in the pool… at the bbq… on the hay wagon… on horseback!
We have been working with Chuck and Debbie’s church to come alongside this family more closely. The kids are getting bigger and there are just many more challenges, financial and physical. So, would you please send Chuck and Debbie a few words of encouragement? A hymn or, send a Baskin-Robbins gift certificate for their kids: whatever, just be sure you send your note filled with scripture and a prayer right away to Chuck and Debbie in care of Joni and Friends, P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA91376. And if you miss any details, I'll post details on joniandfriends.org. Thank, friend, for putting into action the love of Christ as you encourage this family with Christ’s love. Send your note today to Chuck and Debbie at P.O. Box 3333, Agoura Hills, CA91376. Thanks for having a heart for the disabled.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 91376
© Joni and Friends