{"id":2157,"date":"2011-11-13T20:14:58","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T01:14:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=2157"},"modified":"2011-11-19T20:32:52","modified_gmt":"2011-11-20T01:32:52","slug":"reaching-from-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/reaching-from-the-dark.html","title":{"rendered":"Reaching from the dark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some say he could be one of the wealthiest men in the county.\u00a0 His mother died about 10 years ago.\u00a0 He has a\u00a0beautiful home\u00a0and a new car.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>This man has plenty of money.\u00a0 There are two bankers and two lawyers who take care of his financial, investment and legal needs.\u00a0 Unfortunately, his caregivers are not consistent and change frequently.\u00a0 Fred is a 64 year old man who is in great health; and he is a part of the mentally challenged community.<\/p>\n

Recently, we did a survey of sort with our members of Special Gathering.\u00a0 We were at Camp Agape which is our annual spiritual retreat for persons who are developmentally delayed or intellectually disabled.\u00a0 We had drawn a circular target on a piece of paper.\u00a0 It’s the same kind of target used for darts.\u00a0 There’s a small circle inside a larger circle, inside a larger circle.<\/p>\n

We asked\u00a0our members\u00a0to put their best friends and closest family in the bull’s eye or smallest circle.\u00a0 Then close friends and other members of their family in the other circle.\u00a0 The final and largest\u00a0circle would contain the people who work with\u00a0them and they know in an informal way.\u00a0 Perhaps people who are especially nice to them but may or may not be their friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Fred’s entire target contained two names.\u00a0 They were in the bull’s eye.\u00a0 Fred had written the name of one other member of Special Gathering and my name, Linda Howard.\u00a0 When I saw his target, I cried.\u00a0 My tears were from sadness and joy.<\/p>\n

Of course, I was sad that this fine man.\u00a0 How lonely it must be to\u00a0feel that\u00a0you have only two people on which\u00a0you can depend.\u00a0 I was struck that no amount of money can buy friends and loved ones.\u00a0 And perhaps, his money and lawyers and bankers have insulated him from not only hurt but also genuine friendships.<\/p>\n

But mostly, I cried that I have the honor to be a part of Fred’s life.\u00a0 In the twenty years we have been friends, I have seen Fred grow spiritually and emotionally.<\/p>\n

I had known Fred for more than five years before I saw any emotion from him.\u00a0 He often laughs now and his smiles are frequent.\u00a0 Fred will never be an overtly affectionate individual; but these days he usually will give me a sideways hug after our choir sings.\u00a0 If\u00a0he has a solo, \u00a0his grin is from ear to ear.\u00a0 In the past four or five years,\u00a0 while driving him around in the van for Special Gathering events,\u00a0 I can hear him giggle.<\/p>\n

We all reach from the dark to find hope, joy and satisfaction in life.\u00a0 Being a part of the mentally challenged community does not erase the desire for love and acceptance.\u00a0 I praise God that I’m a part of The Special Gathering and that God gives us the opportunity to reach out and find\u00a0finger tips of hands\u00a0that are also reaching.\u00a0 Perhaps with the\u00a0assistance of the Holy Spirit, I can even touch and be a significant part of a important life–a person for whom Jesus gave everything.<\/p>\n

Is there someone that you have touched in a significant way? \u00a0Who belongs in the center of your target?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some say he could be one of the wealthiest men in the county.\u00a0 His mother died about 10 years ago.\u00a0 He has a\u00a0beautiful home\u00a0and a new car. This man has plenty of money.\u00a0 There are two bankers and two lawyers who take care of his financial, investment and legal needs.\u00a0 Unfortunately, his caregivers are not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,186,49,16,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,699,715,701,694,6,700],"class_list":["post-2157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nReaching from the dark - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/reaching-from-the-dark.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reaching from the dark - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Some say he could be one of the wealthiest men in the county.\u00a0 His mother died about 10 years ago.\u00a0 He has a\u00a0beautiful home\u00a0and a new car. 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Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Reaching from the dark - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2011\/11\/reaching-from-the-dark.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Reaching from the dark - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Some say he could be one of the wealthiest men in the county.\u00a0 His mother died about 10 years ago.\u00a0 He has a\u00a0beautiful home\u00a0and a new car. 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