Unto The Least

Aaron and I went bowling this past week with my dear friend, Joyce, and her sons.  Aaron and Johannes have bowled quite often together since Joyce and I started taking them last year. 

Johannes is non-verbal but look at how he speaks with joy all over his face when he watches his ball knock down some pins.

Last week Johannes’ brother, Christoph, was able to join us.  Christoph hadn’t bowled in quite some time. 

As I sat there watching Joyce work with Christoph before and during each of his turns, I was so touched by her kindness and her patience.

And in that bowling alley, I saw the hands of God.

Remember when Jesus told His followers that they had visited Him, clothed Him, fed Him…and they told Him that they had not done any of those things for Him?

But then Jesus told them that when they had fed and clothed and visited others, they had done it unto Him. 

“…as you did it unto one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.”

Every parent caring for children is in many ways living out these verses. 

For those parents with special needs children who become special needs adults, the continual care doesn’t typically stop at a certain age.  The needs of our special sons and daughters are ever present…and often increase…with age.

We parents might often wish for more freedom to help in various ministries in our towns or around the world, but here we are at home still caring for the needs of our children after all these years.  Caregivers are nearly impossible to find or to afford.  It’s easy to feel stuck and rather useless as far as “serving the Lord.”

But in that bowling alley, God have me a powerful image of just the opposite.

In our own homes, every single day, we can live out God’s mission for our lives.

Every touch…

Every demonstration of love…

Every load of laundry…every cooked meal…every vacuumed floor…every cleaned-up mess…every repeated conversation, over and over and over!!….every doctor visit…every crisis…every decision…every tear shed…

We have done unto the least of these…the overlooked and sometimes forgotten ones…the marginal in many eyes…

And so we have done these actions unto God Himself. 

God has given us such a precious opportunity within the walls of our own homes!  An opportunity to serve Him every day without even walking out our doors.  It just doesn’t often FEEL that way to us.

I hope that all of you caregivers out there, in whatever capacity that may be…but especially in your own homes…will know that as you tend to your loved ones, you are also serving God in one of the most daily and difficult ways.

One day we will hear God’s words saying, “Well done, good and faithful servant!”

For Joyce, today, I say, “Well done, my friend!  Very well done.” 

Author: Patty hesaidwhatks

I'm Patty and I write about our adult son who has Epilepsy and Autism, who still lives with my husband and me, and who is a package full of many surprises and joys and challenges and TALK! Lots of talking, which creates laughter and some other reactions as well. I also write about how God shows Himself to me in everyday life.

21 thoughts on “Unto The Least”

  1. Wow. I am humbled by your post today, dear friend. Thank you for reminding all of us that we give care as unto Jesus Himself. Thank you for being our example just as Joyce was to you. God bless you today especially.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. Patty this was so poignant it brought tears to my eyes. I remember the many parents of my developmentally delayed patients. Almost across the board they were devoted to the well being of their child and would go the extra mile to provide a happy, supportive and comforting home for them. These parents were my heroes and it was hard to understand how they had the strength to love and nurture (many times thanklessly) their child who was so different and who demanded so much time. I always felt these special parents were cradled and lifted in God’s hands as they strived to care for their child. A job more important than any other.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. It truly is God’s grace and strength that keep us going, Barbara. I’m sure you’ve seen that truth over and over, like you said. And I know that you were a very great help to so many parents and children over the years. Thank you for that. 💖💖

      Like

      Reply

  8. Patty. What wisdom and encouragement from you and your friend to all of us whosoevers !!! Our Father in heaven has used you both to encourage His children!!! You are precious in His sight. And mine too!!! I love your Godly wisdom. It can only come from a loving and kind servant who cares and loves others more than themselves. And all from Jesus!!! Most do not want to be a servant. But Jesus set that example for us when he washed his disciples feet. How humbling!!! I am humbled and helped by your words. Loving Jesus along with you both, Your friend Sharon

    The Lord bless you and be gracious to you and give you peace. 🙏🏽

    >

    Like

    Reply

    1. Thanks for YOUR kind and encouraging words, Sharon! You’re so right – it’s all from Jesus. You, my friend, are a true example to me of a loving servant. May you be richly blessed each day. ❤️❤️

      Like

      Reply

  9. Beautiful and so inspiring! I truly wish more supports would be put into place for families with these needs. The need is ever so great.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Sheila. Yes, it’s a tough situation, especially for those with more than one special needs child. Kansas has some good programs and helps, but things like finding personal caregivers so that we can get away is very difficult. Thanks for your input!

      Like

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: