Her brown hair is short and it sports a utilitarian style.\u00a0 Her uniform was clean and pressed with precision.\u00a0 Last year, she held an important position with the Federal government in Washington, DC.\u00a0 She has a Master\u2019s degree in management.\u00a0 Yet, through no fault of her own, she is now working for less than $12 an hour, doing the same job she did while she was in high school.\u00a0 Her new job puts her in close contact with\u00a0Special Gathering \u00a0members.<\/p>\n
Yesterday, as I approached her, I could see the tears reaming her eyes.\u00a0 \u201cHow are you?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t believe my life\u00a0has come to this,\u201d she said,\u00a0marking a check list\u00a0and reviewing the things that needed to be done to keep the people she oversees safe.\u00a0 She turned away from me so that I could not see the lone tear that pierced her\u00a0left cheek.<\/p>\n
I took her in my arms and hugged her.\u00a0 We had bonded from the first time we met because she is a devoted Christian and she attends the same church that I\u2019ve had close connections with for years.\u00a0 \u00a0Her greatest concern isn\u2019t the amount of money that she is making.\u00a0 It is\u00a0that by working with our members on Sundays, she is not able to attend her church.\u00a0 I\u2019ve invited her to come to Special Gathering, instead; but she isn\u2019t able to break away and come.<\/p>\n
As our members bounded away from her a few hours later, I couldn\u2019t help but contrast their lives with this caregiver\u2019s.\u00a0I also saw myself in the caregiver\u2019s position;\u00a0and I wished that I could more easily identify with my members.\u00a0 \u00a0These past two weeks have been a struggle for me.\u00a0 I can identify with\u00a0the middle-aged woman who found her life in shambles.\u00a0 No,\u00a0 my situation isn\u2019t as tragic as hers.\u00a0 However, circumstances have definitely changed.<\/p>\n
Is there an answer for me and for her?\u00a0 I saw that the answer was slapping me in the face.\u00a0 Our members have the same concerns of any other adult.\u00a0 They have bills to pay.\u00a0 They have boyfriend\/girlfriend issues.\u00a0 They have problems with the people the work with and the people with whom they live.\u00a0 Their bosses aren\u2019t always fair.\u00a0 They have health issues.\u00a0 Their aging parents have delicate health concerns.\u00a0 But they bound from place to place happy to be alive.<\/p>\n
Sure there are those within the mentally challenged community\u00a0who live with depression.\u00a0 Others are just plain aggravating or even mean.\u00a0 But as a population, they have so much that could be distracting and\u00a0oppressive;\u00a0and yet they determine to see the best for themselves and for their families.\u00a0 Add a relationship with Lord and we find the most positive and resilient people I\u2019ve ever met.<\/p>\n
Here are several things that I\u2019ve found that the mentally challenged community does that helps them to maintain their mental stability in the face of trauma.<\/p>\n
Each of us are able to make decisions that can and should alter our lives.\u00a0 Most of these decisions are simply deciding to allow God to fight our battles and laugh in the face of hard circumstances.\u00a0\u00a0 Of course, keeping in daily contact with the Lord, family and Christian friends can help change our lives in the middle of difficult circumstances.<\/p>\n
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Her brown hair is short and it sports a utilitarian style.\u00a0 Her uniform was clean and pressed with precision.\u00a0 Last year, she held an important position with the Federal government in Washington, DC.\u00a0 She has a Master\u2019s degree in management.\u00a0 Yet, through no fault of her own, she is now working for less than $12…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,20,3,40,10,16,28,85,12],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,699,691,694,689,692,700],"class_list":["post-515","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-faith","category-inspirational","category-intellectual-disability","category-mentally-challenged","category-prayer-2","category-religion","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-inspirational","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-religion","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\n