How many times we parents of disabled children have let slip the prayer: "Why me, Lord? Why a child in difficulty?" Over time, we learned to pray differently: "This child of ours is your will for our family, for his schoolmates and coworkers, for the teachers who help him grow, for the friends who accept him. When the burden is shared across so many shoulders, it becomes bearable."
Our children are left out of the race for efficiency, wealth, and beauty. Some of them have little awareness that they are less capable than their peers, and yet they express an insistent need to be accepted and loved.
So many times my son has asked me: "Mama, do you love me? Are you proud of me?"
So many times my son has asked me: "Mama, do you love me? Are you proud of me?"
Each time I feel shaken inside. It is hard to say yes with all my heart. To accept their presence without sadness, without shame before others, without fear for their future — this is a Gift from God. Without it there is no peace for us. Give us, Jesus, the patience, the courage, the strength to love our child truly, every day. Give to society — and we do recognize its efforts on behalf of the disabled — a culture of inclusion. Let people see with new eyes those in difficulty. Not eyes of wonder or pity, but eyes at ease, eyes of genuine warmth.
Perhaps one day we parents too will have new eyes, so that we can pray to you: "Thank you, Jesus, for this imperfect child, because he is our chance to grow and to stand together."
From a Polish mother