My friend Colin Reeves is a very caring father. And one of his sons for whom he cares especially is named Matthew. This young man — oh, around the age of 23 or 24 — has a mental disability, a very severe learning handicap, plus, he is incredibly shy. Whenever Matthew talks to me, it’s just so hard for him to hold eye-contact... he thinks I’ll lose interest in what he’s saying and so he kind of smiles and sways, looks away, his voice starts to trail off and he walks off to find things or people to stand behind. I always say, “Matthew! Please finish what you were telling me... I want to hear your stories.” Then he smiles big and comes back and I have his attention for about 30 seconds more, and then, he gets shy again.
Colin called me not long ago and when I asked how Matthew was doing, he said that his son recently had to move from his small apartment where he had been living by himself and into a residential facility with other disabled people. It seems dear Matthew’s independent living skills were not quite sharp enough for him to stay alone. The young man was, however, more than a little apprehensive about having to move into a room with another person — like I said, he has a tough time connecting with people.
“How’d he do?” I asked Colin.
“At first,” Colin told me, “Matthew was very nervous. He has enough problems with social skills as it is, and a lot of these boys in the facility were more disabled than he. Even I was worried about his new living arrangement. I knew that, with all those people in that residential facility, Matthew would have a hard time relating with others and might end up feeling overwhelmed.”
Well, after just a few days, Colin gave his son a call. During the conversation, he probed Matthew about whether or not he was able to make friends... you know, push past the awkwardness. His son on the other end of the line piped up and said, “Dad, this is the best place for me. My roommate is named David and guess what, Dad? David has more problems than I do... he needs a friend and somebody to help... I’m going to be his friend and help him. I think this is why God has me here.”
Yep, that’s why God has him there. For what was once a scary and new situation actually became Matthew’s salvation. He will grow out of that shyness of his and he will push past his lack of social skills and his mental disability all because he sees that he is needed. His friend David needs him.
And isn’t that a lesson for us all, for any of us who find ourselves in the midst of a change, a scary new life circumstance? Philippians 2:4 advises, “...consider others better than yourselves. Look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” Somebody out there needs you... and, like Matthew, you may end up being the one who’s helped the most.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
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