Limbs, of all varieties

john 9:1-5
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.

the testimonies of christians with disabilities can be absolutely incredible--like nick vujicic's.  sometimes, it even seems like their potential to glorify God is even greater because their struggle is more apparent.  and from the verse, its apparent that God doesnt "curse" people or "punish" them with disabilities, but rather, he uses them for his glory, regardless.

besides that, this verse spoke to me on a somewhat personal level, since there's a teacher at school whose son is disabled with cerebral palsy--as is the woman in the video--and his son has been relatively high profile of late as a result of various fundraisers held to help support the family as they scramble to fund their sons medical treatments for palsy.  in particular, Gods message to me seems to consist in realizing his glory and work in everything.  normally it'd be considered less than fortunate to have a disabled child, but God turns it all around and defies societal norms.  the particular boy in question is also christian--as his family--and i realize now how beautiful the situation is, because through them, others have seen their absolute trust in God's power to provide for their family even when it seems impossible to raise the necessary funds.  and in the same way as God can use the disabled, he can use us as his hands and feet.  we dont have to be missing any of our limbs or have a physical/mental impairment in order to live as effective testimonies for God either.

this upworthy also shows the immense capacities of the disabled when treated just like everyone else and when they're given a chance to prove themselves.  maysoon zayid may not be christian, but she is disabled (with cerebral palsy), yet she's shown incredible resilience and determination.

to me, this verse is also God's way of saying that absolutely anyone and everyone can be a vessel for his glory.  if i've ever doubted the ability of someone with disabilities to make a difference, this is definitely a reminder against that.  since i missed yesterday, i wanted two applications for today.  the second is writing a thank you note to a disabled friend whose been a great encouragement to me.