Not Broken

In John chapter 9, Jesus encountered a blind man.  While those around Him tried to figure out why
the man was blind, Jesus decided to do something about it. We can read these verses:
3 Jesus answered, "Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.
5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
6 When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.

He then told the man to wash in the pool of Siloam, and he was healed.

In this case, we recognize that Jesus did not regard a disability as something to be ashamed of - through that blindness, the Lord declared that He would be glorified.  To show He was the light of the world, He healed the blind man.  Paul had some sort of condition, a thorn in the flesh, that God did not heal, but He told the apostle that His grace was sufficient.  The fact is, God has created us a certain way, and He intends to use us for His glory: there is glory in healing and there is glory in the imperfections.

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In Luke 14, we can see that there is a place in the Kingdom of God for those who are regarded as less than perfect - and essentially, that's what we all are.  We see that a master had prepared a feast and
issued invitations, which were rejected:
21 So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.'
22 And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.'
23 Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Small businesses are breathing a sigh of relief, in some instances, and are hopefully in a state of building back to where they were before perhaps their businesses were closed as a result of the Coronavirus.  We remember the multiple thousands around the world, including tens of thousands in the U.S., who have lost their lives over the past two months.  And, we can also concentrate on rebuilding from the economic toil, which has resulted in the loss of jobs and even emotional despair.

Recently, there was a moving scene at the White House, as President Trump invited small businesses who had received loans from the Paycheck Protection Program told their stories.  WMBF Television reported that:

The founder and CEO of Bitty & Beau’s Coffee and one of the company’s workers had the opportunity to speak to the president directly on Tuesday.

CEO Amy Wright and employee Michael Heup both spoke to President Donald Trump and his daughter, Ivanka Trump at an event held for small businesses. They highlighted the paycheck protection program and also spoke about the importance of hiring people who live with diverse abilities.

The coffee shop had to close temporarily, but was able to get up and running through the PPP and partnership with a local bank.

Heup shared with Mr. Trump: "I love my job and i’m [sic] excited about going about to work. At Bitty and Beau’s we like to use the phrase ‘not broken,’ that means me and all my amazing coworkers are not broken and have lots to offer. I know the great country of the United States is not broken either..."

So, what's the significance of that phrase, "not broken?"  Well, Amy Wright and her husband, Ben, who settled in Wilmington, North Carolina, after a career on Broadway.  And, they later had two children with Down Syndrome.  They established the coffee shop, according to the God Reports website, to "employ people like their children, workers with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD)."  Their children's names are Beau, their son, and Bitty, their daughter.  The article says:

“There was just an enormous amount of grief — it was like I was grieving the son I thought I was going to have,” Amy told Baptist News about the turmoil of disappointment before Beau’s birth. “When we learned about Beau’s diagnosis I felt so sad and overwhelmed.

“We are so embarrassed about that now,” she added to the Wilmington Star News. “But if we had had more exposure to people with Down Syndrome back then maybe we would have felt differently.”

Amy Wright eventually became a CNN "Hero of the Year."  Amy told the news outlet, according to God Reports: “When you become a parent of a child with special needs, you are instantly thrust into becoming an advocate,” adding, “Trying to make people see the beauty in their lives that we see. My children are not broken.”

The article notes that: "Amy and Ben decided they would do something to help other people with IDD, 70 percent of which are unemployed." The Wilmington shop opened in 2016 and they hired 40 people with a variety of disabilities, "ranging from autism to cerebral palsy."

When Amy opened the coffee house and launched a non-profit organization advocating for the disabled, she said, "I feel that was the moment I was drawn closer to God..." She added, “Given the right support, these individuals are fantastic employees — very loyal, very dependable and certainly very capable...People with disabilities have been in the shadows for too long.”

Heup is a former Special Olympian with special needs whom the President said "stole the show" that day at the White House, with the Daily Mail reporting that the moment was retweeted over a thousand times within a few hours following the event.  The article quotes from Michael:

'You guys are our family,' he added, before giving them a heartfelt thumbs-up.

Trump led a round of applause for the coffee shop worker, saying he had 'stolen the show' and telling him he would 'vote' for him.

'I think we found a couple of stars in this room today... This guy right here is the biggest star in the room,' Trump said.

'We'll all agree... I vote for you, okay. What a great job you've done. And I really appreciate it, I appreciate you being here. Couldn't have done better.'

Michael invited the President and his daughter to visit the shop's Annapolis, Maryland location.

We have to remember that each of us is fearfully and wonderfully made, crafted by the hands of a loving Creator - that certainly applies to those with special needs, who, rather than being regarded as "broken," as Amy and Michael point out, can be regarded as truly special in the eyes of God.

We can also remember the ministries which are established to help those with special needs and their families.  Not only can we think about national ministries like Joni and Friends, that reflects the heart of its founder, Joni Eareckson Tada, but also other ministries that have been establish to reach out in that way, such as Montgomery's Rooftop Friends and others.  Churches can be sensitive to families that possess the gift of having special needs families.

Finally, we recognize that work is a gift. I think that many have realized that during this pandemic, when so many have lost their employment.  The Wrights, because they had two special needs children, realized the plight of those with disabilities and set out to rectify the situation in their corner of the world.  We can realize that we don't have to change the whole world, but we can do what we can do.  Amy and Ben Wright recognized that, and now that their business is spreading and that they have been recognized, they are finding that indeed experiencing the phenomenon that their faithfulness in little has become faithfulness in much.