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Linda and I had become such
good friends I felt comfortable about confiding in her with what had
happened the night before at the Bible study.
“We’ve never spoken of
religion, seems we’ve just been so busy with the kids, every minute.
I‘m sure you understand and
know about my father’s faith and teachings?” I plain out, asked. “I know
you are Christian but still don’t know what denomination.”
Linda didn’t answer about
her own but did say, “Yes, I know you have your faith, even though we
haven’t talked about it.”
We had watched the soaps
and giggled about the immorality of this or that leading character. This
wasn’t play acting though and frankly I felt very insecure.
“One of the things so well
taught,” I was trying to explain to Linda, “is the promise of the original
hope for a world populated by strong, good people who do not have the
failings of that original couple. Frankly, I can tell you, if there was no
this belief in my heart I don’t know if I could have endured Rhonda’s
condition. There are so many things that come up and I’m sure you have had
the same experience. Some people want to believe we are being punished by
God, others think we have done something to inherit a curse, all sorts of
ideas are in their minds. It just makes the problems we have to work
through even harder. For my faith teaching me that we are under
imperfection for a marked period of time has been a comfort to me. To
think that Rhonda and anyone that is lame will be able at some time to
“leap up like the stag,” as the prophet Isaiah tells has given me the will
to go forward. That is my hope, but for the present, all I can do to make
her life comfortable and productive, I want to do. The spiritual family I
have are all of like mind and this gives me strength as well, so I keep
going back. To study the Bible with people who are seeking is such a
pleasure. All our cares are put away even if for only an hour or two and
we all are looking for a brighter future, together.”
Linda was very quiet for
the first time. I knew she was in agreement with what I was saying. This
is probably one of the greatest things the parent of a disabled child has
to control and she, herself, knew exactly what I was trying to say. Her
son was equally at risk. Keeping a marriage together could mean the
difference in whether a child had the best care or is shuffled off to
something else, somewhere else than in their own home with loving parents.
“This is just the worst
time for this to happen. Instead of me, it has been Rodney who has been
depressed. He comes home, sits in front of the television and barely says
a word all evening. We eat our meal in silence and he is right back to
that television. I spoke with the counselor and she said that men become
very depressed over their child but do not express it in the same way. She
told me that a man’s ego is actually involved.”
I could see from Linda’s
expression she knew exactly of what I spoke. Her husband seemed to just
stay on the road with his job which left her to carry the heaviest part of
the therapy on her own.
“Well, anyway, I’ve thought
about it and we will go back to the meeting, but as soon as possible I’ll
look for a house in a different location and we will change, again, our
congregation. I’m sure they all are talking about us, else the man
wouldn’t even have been so interested.”
As it happened, we did
return to the same Bible study. Evidently someone of the elders there had
seen the quiet interchange between one of their own and myself because the
man was as if he had died. There wasn’t a glance, not a look, not one
indication he knew I was in the room, much to my relief. What pain and
sorrow that could have been ended, as the song tells, “softly, as in the
evening sunset.”
Once again, “Upon their
hands,” I was carried by whatever angels were present. |
