I have been inspired recently by several different people who could so easily be described as being “Disabled” I watched an excellent documentary about the Eastenders star and Strictly winner Rose Ayling-Ellis, who has been profoundly deaf since birth, this twenty-eight-year-old woman has encouraged deaf young people and inspired them to strive to achieve their own goals in life.
Her parents were advised not to teach her sign language, because it would make her lazy, and she needed to speak, so the hearing world could understand her. Thankfully, her mother ignored the advice and learned BSL so that she could teach it to her daughter, anybody who has seen Rose will understand when I say that there is a beauty in her communication, which is a mixture of speech and signing, and the moment in Strictly when everything was silent, and Rose and her partner performed the beauty of dance in silence was inspirational and moving.
I have also watched a programme recently about Ellie Simmonds, the paralympic gold medal swimmer who has a long list of other achievements to her name, one being that she competed in the 2023 series of Strictly. She talks frankly about living with dwarfism, and quite honestly concludes that she wouldn’t want it any other way, she is comfortable with who she is.
As I write this Thought for the day, the documentary about the abuse comedian Rosie Jones has had to endure throughout her life is about to be aired tonight. I confess that I don’t always like the material Rosie Jones uses, but then, I don’t like the material that a lot of our modern comedian’s use, but it seems that Ms Jones gets abuse about her cerebral palsy and her “differentness” if there is such a word, and I have to admire the fact that she has smashed through the barriers of prejudice and carved a successful career for herself, and she should be credited for that.
There is something truly horrible about a world where people who are considered to be different, to us normal folk have to face a barrage of abuse, simply because of who they are.
In my work I have met some of the most amazing people, who have transformed my life. I remember one Good Friday Service a few years ago, when the residents of our local L’Arche community attended, the dynamics of the service changed immediately and the experience will live with me for a long time to come, I loved every minute of it. I have come to love people with Downs Syndrome, who could teach us all something about love and care, people who are blind, and adapt to life, and are inspirational.
I have spent some happy times with people in a befrienders group who are some of the most honest people I have ever known. I have met some amazing people who despite, living with more than one condition have achieved to most amazing this during their lifetimes and been inspirational. Sadly, most of these people could write a book (and some have) about the horrendous ways that they have been spoken to and discriminated against, which in my opinion is shameful.
I find myself reflecting on the life of Jesus and his ministry day by day and went out and spent time with the people the world shunned. As the modern Church we often take the moral high ground and despise the people of Jesus time for the way they behaved, yet two thousand years later, little has changed. I ask myself “what is normal?” and my conclusion is that if we believe that God made humankind in image, then we see the face of God in all people, and we should be treasuring our differences and thanking God for them.