Yesterday morning I dropped Jackie off at a local church so that she could take a bus with her bible study group to Philadelphia. They left at 7 in the morning to spend the day with homeless people near Chinatown. They had church service and prepared an enormous breakfast to share after. I don't think I have ever been so proud of anyone! She was so excited to text me and let me know that she was making eggs with her new friends, when we picked her up in the afternoon she could not contain herself as she told us about the men and women that she met. She did not care that one was missing a leg, or that they hadn't had a shower in weeks. She hugged each of them that wanted, was thrilled to be serving them, and laughed all day as they shared stories with her.
Her disabilities didn't matter ALL day. Not one of her "new friends" complained that she talked too slow or that she was not dressed like your average 15 yr old. As a matter of fact, she cannot wait to go back!
Jackie may have been born missing part of her brain but God made up for it when He gave her the biggest heart!
Acts like these are not uncommon for Jackie. She is very involved in our youth group at church, she will spend hours talking to a friend that is down, and hurts when her sisters hurt. She has wanted to do something like this for a long time but we were always hesitant. What if someone takes advantage of her, what if she gets lost, what if she has a seizure and she is 2 hours away?
At church on Saturday night our Pastor was talking about having faith and how, when interviewed, so many people age 70 and above regret not taking more risks in their lives. I decided at that moment that I have to have more blind faith. Faith that our God knows our purpose, has planned our tomorrows and loves us more that we will ever know. I thanked Him for my beautiful family and promised that I would try to be more trusting in Him.
For so long I have tried to protect Jackie, make all her decisions for her, hold her hand in just about everything. I am the same way with her sisters :) I have come to accept that God has a plan for her too, that is why He gave her that enormous heart! I can only imagine how she blessed those "new friends" on Saturday. I can only imagine the faces that smiled at her, that probably haven't smiled in years and I thank God that He made Jackie just the way she is and that He trusted us enough to give her to us.
So for those of you that are new to ACC, or not so new but question your child's future, please let these words be encouraging to you. It is amazing what our children are capable of with just a little bit of encouragement and guidance from us and unwaivering faith in Him!
As terrible as I am at keeping up with this blog please e-mail me with questions, advice, encouraging words of your own ANYTIME!
