"I had this terrible dream last night...it was a nightmare!" he said.I have had that nightmare, most often when I am awake, and it doesn't have to do with me personally per se. I am glad that for my friend it is only a dream and when he awakes he knows that it was just a dream. For too many people, however, the dream is that they have a place in church and are loved. The nightmare is when they are awake, when the reality of their situation where they are isolated and in need of love and companionship visits them again.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Well I dreamed that nobody in the church loved me anymore."
"Well, you know that isn't true" I quickly replied.
"Oh sure, I know that. Everybody loves me down here. It was
just a dream. It was just a nightmare."
McNair
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2 comments:
scary touching
and true
btw
the articles you sent arrived some time back
thanks so much for sending them
they are very good and I hope to be able to use some of the insghts and info in the future
I never really thought about the Church’s role in trying to seek out people with disabilities. Every church I have attended has always had a “special section.” However, I never saw anyone use it. Some times the section was filled with older people using canes or wheel chairs because of old age. But, I never saw children with disabilities or adults. This truly opened my eyes.
I went to Ramona High School to do some observation hours and I came across one of my favorite English Teachers. She is hearing impaired and has been using a hearing aid to assist her with her hearing. I remember sitting in her class as a junior in High School and her having to inform us on the mechanics of her hearing aid. Anything from tapping our fingers to chewing gum in class to whistling really hurt her hearing!
Anyway, I asked her how she felt growing up and going to church. Her response was quick. “I hated going to church! I couldn’t hear. I was raised Catholic and back in the day Catholic masses were done slightly different. The priest would face the altar and say the entire mass with his back to the people. I could never hear what he said. So I would read from the Bible and pretend I knew what everyone was hearing.” This shocked me. What is sanctuary for many of us was a nightmare for her. She was blessed and was able to go through many surgeries and a hearing aid and she can hear a whole lot better. I am really enjoying this class.
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