Brochure of the Month

Brochure of the Month: December 2024

A Perfect Gift 

 Many people may look at a family attending to a child with special needs and think “I could never handle a child with a disability.” But the author would say “It might look a little crazy from the outside, but he is an amazing little boy, and it’s a good life.”  You aren’t given ‘a child’ with a disability, but your child with a disability. You are not called to “handle” a disability, but to simply love your child. Relationship makes all the difference.  The author’s son Charlie has Down’s syndrome; she is so proud of her son’s valiant efforts to gain basic feeding skills, after being weaned from a feeding tube. 

Many parents want perfect children, and our society airbrushes pictures and promotes images of perfection.  But God calls us to see perfection not in appearance or abilities, but in love. Life in a family where one member has a serious disability may look unappealing from the outside, but love in any family is messy, with faces to wipe and sacrifices to make. The author’s family found that rather than being weighed down by a burden, they had learned more patience, more compassion and more love for others, especially those on the outskirts of society.  

Charlie does well because his family loves him. They make accommodations to compensate for the challenges, and his strengths become more apparent. The challenges that come are only a small part of their lives with their wonderful little boy. He is their most empathetic child – the first to notice and offer comfort when a family member is hurt.

The full article can be found:   English     Spanish

The articles, in both English and Spanish, are available at the Hospitality desk in the church, and in the Ave Maria Center.