Because He’s Worth It!

Perhaps never before has humanity lived in such a self-centred, self-obsessed, self-serving, narcissistic, selfish society as we do now.  Advertising and marketing media is filled with slogans such as ‘Because you’re worth it!’, ‘It’s all about you!’, and recently that dreadful advert from TUI (formerly Thomson Holidays), where an entourage of lackeys serve the every whim of the main character ‘Putting you in the middle’.  People are now taking their self-obsession a stage further with wedding companies offering the opportunity for you to have a single person wedding; to ‘marry’ yourself… it even has a name, sologamy.

because-youre-worth-it-logo     TUI advert

So, what does any of this have to do with a blog post about children with additional needs?  Well, parenting is life changing, it alters everything; the focus of our lives becomes less about ourselves and more about the child we’ve brought into the world.  This is generally (although, sadly, not always) true for all children, but it increases even more for a child with additional needs or disabilities.  The level of care required, the sacrifices that need to be made, the time that needs to be invested, and so much more all increase exponentially.

James is 15, however his additional needs require a level of care that would be typical for a three-year-old.  He cannot be left unsupervised, has no real sense of danger, has a high level of personal care requirements, and there is a great deal of juggling that needs to happen just to get through each day.  In this world, the self-centred self-obsessed advertising and marketing slogans are just irritating white noise; an irrelevance in a situation where they cannot have any place in our lives.

Our focus simply cannot be on ourselves, it is impossible.  It has to be on both of our children, but particularly James as his needs are so much greater.  Whether you believe in the teachings of Jesus, as we do, or just acknowledge him as probably the most influential person in human history, his message of selflessness, putting others first, serving others, loving others, is counter-cultural in today’s society but it speaks to us.  As Matthew puts it in his Gospel, “Be like the Son of Man (another name for Jesus).  He did not come to be served.  Instead, he came to serve others.  He came to give his life as the price for setting many people free.”  Matthew 20:28

Serving others, loving others, self-sacrifice for the benefit of others, this is the model that Jesus left for us to follow.  This is a narrative that is more relevant, more inspirational, more aspirational, and more needed in today’s society than the cultural obsession with self.

Regular readers of this blog will know of the challenges that we have faced in recent times with James.  Him not being willing to leave the house, especially in the day and particularly not to school; his recent diagnosis of epilepsy to add to autism and learning disability.  Things are hard and yet through it all, through all the difficulties and the self-sacrifice, there is the overwhelming natural desire to meet James’ needs, to give him unconditional love, to be there for him, with him, through it all.

And every now and then, we get a wonderful treat!  A few evenings ago, James was sat with us when he was suddenly filled with joy, a huge smile spread across his face, and he excitedly said “Appy!! Appy!!”.  For this almost non-verbal boy this was a wonderful expression of how he was feeling in that moment, and it had us in bits for the rest of the evening!!

All of the sleepless worry-filled nights, all of the challenges and difficulties we face together, all of the hospital appointments, all of the sacrifices that need to be made, all of the times when we can’t do something or go somewhere, even all of the times when we are cleaning up things that we would rather not, all of it melts away when times like this come.  We change the marketing slogan to meet our context, “Because it’s all worth it!”, “Because he’s worth it!”

What about you?  Where do you see yourself in this?  Maybe you are a parent or carer of a child with additional needs and ‘get it’ as you are on the same journey?  Or maybe you are a children’s or youth worker and get to support a child or young person with additional needs when they are in your session?  Whatever your context, the counter-cultural message of Jesus shines through… put others before yourself, love others, be self-sacrificing, serve others.  Jesus reminded us of a couple of passages in the Bible; “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.  Love him with all your mind.’ (Deuteronomy 6:5)  This is the first and most important commandment.  And the second is like it.  ‘Love your neighbour as you love yourself.’ (Leviticus 19:18)”

So, let’s continue to be counter-cultural, revolutionary, rejecting the narcissistic, selfish, self-obsessed, self-serving culture that society would have us embrace.  Following Jesus’ teaching helps us to be better people, to be the people we should be, to love each other, to serve others, to be more like the model he left for us.  And let that especially be the case for the children we care for, whether they are our own or not.  Following his teaching makes sense, “Because he’s worth it!” too…

Mark
4th January 2018

Image rights: © Authors own (header), © L’Oréal (L’Oréal advert), © TUI (TUI advert)

Bible references:  NIrV translation © Biblica

3 thoughts on “Because He’s Worth It!

  1. Thank you Tony for sharing. We can all be very selfish and take,take, but we must look around at the needs of others.As you know we part care for our son and enjoy every minute of giving of ourselves and helping in a need. It has opened our eyes to disability as a whole and made us less selfish in our caring. I agreed with everything in the report and we feel God gives us the strength to do what is necessary in our own situation. Folk say ” how do you do all you do” well that’s easy. Through love and patience and praying all the time. Thanks .xx

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Thanks, Mark; I really appreciate your post. Our son Jonathan is also 15 and I could see a lot of him in what you wrote about James: the jigsaw puzzles, the not wanting to go out. (I was talking with another mom of an autistic teen and wondering “Is this a teen thing? How come the boy who wanted to spend HOURS tossing the basketball in the driveway doesn’t want to go outside?”) We also have a daughter 19 on the spectrum, and while she is extremely high-functioning it is all really challenging at times. I agree that the calling to be a parent in these circumstances is really good at refining our needs and priorities and making us better people. It IS counter-cultural. Thanks for the encouragement today.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Beautiful! ❤ There is nothing I would rather do than care for my son- he is the one who gives me meaning and purpose. He makes me a better Mom-therapist-friend-daughter-etc. just by being with him. Thank you for these wonderful words! Anytime I read about parenting my special needs child where scripture is tied in, I am so uplifted!

    Liked by 1 person

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