Book Summary While Our Lord sees in persons with disabilities a wholeness of spirit, the faith community, with an imperfect vision, may only see brokenness of body or mind. The wholeness of the Body of Christ depends upon the inclusion of all of God's children in His church, bringing the entire Body to the knowledge of Christ and making them disciples to go forth in service to Him. The Great Commission in Matthew 29:19-20 did not put limits or define to whom He was speaking, except to say all people in the entire world. Christ walked with compassion on this earth and His healing miracles are too numerous to cite. His healing hand was always ready to touch those with contagious diseases, twisted limbs and convulsive seizures. If we are to love as He loved, we are held to the high calling demonstrated by the Lord and invite all of His children into the fold with loving arms, embracing them, teaching them and encouraging them throughout a lifetime. Many people, who see themselves as the "perfect" body of Christ, seem to turn away any thought that there might be Disability in the Body of Christ. This manner of thinking is at least 180 degrees in the opposite direction from what is described in the scriptures. There are a plethora of pathetic excuses given for these thoughts, including lack of expertise, lack of workers, lack of understanding from others in the congregation and, often, just lack of compassion for people who "are not like us" in one way or another. This book attempts to refute some of the excuses and give answers to why these excuses are not acceptable to a loving and all-seeing God. Each chapter has new heroes, some are experiencing the disability and some are experiencing the associated pain of seeing their loved one with a disability being marginalized and mistreated. There is so much more to be learned, but if you are someone who loves the Lord and loves His body and would like to learn to better be His "hands and feet" in this world, this book may be a good place to begin.
About the Author: About the Author Sidney Joyce Smart is a retired registered nurse, turned author, with a passion for those with disabilities ranging from physical to emotional to mental illnesses. After having been employed as a nurse in a wide range of fields for almost forty years, she felt that her expertise could now be used to open the area of disability, as it affects the Body of Christ, the church. She has been a volunteer, working with children of all ages in many different church settings for over fifty years. Recently this interest focused in on the need for ministry to those with disabilities and their friends and families in all churches, regardless of size or belief system. Sidney (Syd) earned a BSN in nursing at the University of New Mexico, a Masters in Adult Education at the same school and a doctorate in Christian Education at Freedom Bible College and Seminary. She has been a long-time member of the National and New Mexico Autism Societies, serving on the Board of Directors for the latter recently. She also served on the Board of Directors for the Cerebral Palsy Parents Association in New Mexico, during which time she became a first generation trainer for SibShops, a sibling support group model out of Seattle, Washington and presently hosting SibShops all over the world. Syd has been widowed just over two years and was able to move back to a small village in New Mexico which she has always considered home. Her hope continues to be that she will remain involved in active projects teaching and training others how to deal with God's special people, those with disabilities. She can be contacted via email at smart26@msn.com.