"The gift of life comes in fragile earthen vessels."
--Mary
Jane Owen, M.S.W., Executive Director,
National
Catholic Partnership on Disability
We
all know the truth of this statement, yet most of us spend our
lives desperately trying to pretend it isn't so. We extol the
virtues of youth and beauty and undergo expensive and sometimes
risky surgeries with painful recuperations to "undo" the realities
of aging. We die in nursing homes and hospitals away from family
and friends and when we must acknowledge someone's death, we try
to evade the reality by resorting to euphemisms, saying the person
has "passed away" or is "gone" or is "no longer with us". We generally
expect anyone dealing with the loss of a loved one to "get over
it" within a couple of weeks and we comfort ourselves [not them!]
by telling them that "at least the deceased didn't suffer" or
"you still have your memories" or "let me know if I can help"
[but I sure hope you won't!]. Our rugged individualism is challenged
by vulnerability. One's ability to produce in the market place
and command an enviable income is often the yardstick by which
we measure a person's worth. In our desperate pursuit to hold
it all together and prove our strength, we have little patience
for anything or anyone who reminds us of the reality of our fragility.
So
go our defenses against being human!
But
we ARE human. We cannot be otherwise, no matter how hard we try.
We are called not only to acknowledge, but to actually embrace
our frailties. Otherwise we will continue to be controlled by
expectations leading to behaviors that will always end in disillusionment.
To
know that "the gift of life comes in fragile earthen vessels"
enables us to relax and even to befriend our limitations and our
mortality. To have been created in God's image, is not synonymous
with having been created as God's replacement. The persons with
physical and/or developmental disabilities whom Bridge Ministries
serves are prophetic reminders of the frailty we all share. The
more we are able to acknowledge and live out of that reality,
the happier we will be.
We
are dependent. We are vulnerable. We are fragile. And life . .
. all life . . . is a gift from God.