John 9: Hope For the Special Needs Family

There are some scriptures in the Bible that have resonated well with me since giving birth to my daughter with Down syndrome. This passage is one of them: 

As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. ² “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”

³ “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him. ⁴ We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.^[a] The night is coming, and then no one can work. ⁵ But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.”

⁶ Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. ⁷ He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam” (Siloam means “sent”). So the man went and washed and came back seeing!

John 9:1-7 NLT

Now, some people might read this passage and conclude that all people with disabilities need healed. I believe this is why many people in the church have felt comfortable and "right" about approaching Jaycee and I over the years to pray for her to be healed of Down syndrome. I'm not going to discuss this point today, but I'm going to try to show you something else that speaks to me in this passage. 

When I read this passage 11 years ago after giving birth to Jaycee, the question the disciples asked Jesus hit me hard. They saw a man born blind, and they wanted Jesus to explain which person's sin caused the blindness. They wanted to know why it happened. They wanted to know whose fault it was that a baby would be born blind. 

I wondered how many people in that village had the same question and opinion. I wondered how many times the parents looked at their blind child over the years and wondered what they did wrong. I wondered if they felt guilt or ashamed from the looks, assumptions, and questions. I never thought about the parents in this story until I had Jaycee. I always understood the curiosity of the disciples. But, after having Jaycee, I felt for those parents. 

You see after Jaycee was born, there were many, many people searching for the "answer" of why my baby was born with Down syndrome and a heart defect. A few did suggest my own or my husband's sin may have been to blame. I was encouraged to pray and repent and see if my daughter could be healed. When she wasn't, I was told to dig deeper and pray harder to help my child. They looked at my daughter and believed her diagnoses must have been sin related. This caused me to feel like a second class citizen in the Christian world. My family felt marked.

Me with newborn Jaycee

Still others saw my newborn daughter's diagnoses as something from God. They said I was strong enough or special enough to catch God's attention to receive a gift of a child like this. They wanted me to embrace the diagnoses.

You know what I was after all these opinions. Confused!

Opinions are many when a diagnosis comes. That's a fact now and appears to be a part of the culture way back in Bible times too.  

Jesus responded to the disciples that no one sinned to cause the blindness. It was no one's "fault," and it was merely for people to see God's power. In other words, the disciples were way off! They were viewing the man and his parents with some judgment (deciding sin caused the physical disability). 

This showed me that you can be very close to God and develop wrong conclusions. The disciples walked with Jesus and heard his teachings. They were close to him, yet they came to some very wrong conclusions about the parents and the man. Had they not talked to Jesus first about the situation, they may have talked to the blind man or his parents about their sins trying to "help" them. They may have driven the family farther from God instead of bringing them closer.

That was something good the disciples did. Before they talked to the man who was blind, they talked to Jesus about it! The information they got from Jesus was revelation to them!

Over the years of raising a child with developmental and medical problems in the Christian faith, I have had to keep this passage in mind. The first point being that many people are searching for answers in my situation, not just me. Secondly, very faithful Christians may get some things wrong because not one of us have God's perspective. People will say wrong things to me, and I need to be able to respond to them with grace and forgiveness. I can also teach people about their wrong assumptions and help them see beyond a disability. Finally, we all need to set our opinions aside and ask God for information on a situation before opening our mouths. We could really do permanent damage to a person's spiritual life if we speak without God's wisdom.

This is why John 9 is one of my favorite Bible passages. God has heard every accusation against my family. God has seen people who have tried to minister to us when we didn't ask to be ministered to. God has heard my questions and seen my tears. He has the answers we are all seeking. He has all the wisdom. He is the hope even when others make me feel like there's no place for Down syndrome in the church. God is the one who embraces my daughter's soul and can help others do the same.


Thanks for stopping by today! I'm taking part in the 31 for 21 challenge-where bloggers write for all 31 days in October for Trisomy 21 awareness. Happy Down syndrome Awareness Month!

Getting Focused

Walking down the street, Jesus saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked, "Rabbi, who sinned: this man or his parents, causing him to be born blind?"
Jesus said, "You're asking the wrong question. You're looking for someone to blame. There is no cause-effect here. Look instead for what God can do."
John 9:1-5 Message Version


This week I read this passage as part of my daily Bible reading. I love this passage of scripture for many reasons but this is the first time I have read this scripture in the Message version of the Bible. This version spoke new things to me.

When something bad happens, it is often human tendency to figure out the why of a situation. Why did my loved one get sick? Die? Get into a horrible accident? Be born with a condition? Some people blame God for their situation, some see a situation as a test from God, some blame Satan, some blame the sin of the person, some blame the sin of their ancestors, and on and on. Ten different people can come up with 10 different reasons why something bad happened. It can be confusing. Some people get stuck here in the 'why' spot trying to figure out what happened, who to blame, and possibly how that can get them out of it.

I know I have in the past.

It took me years to get past trying to understand why a God serving Christian could have a baby born with Down syndrome and a serious heart defect that caused congestive heart failure. Everyone gave me their opinion. To some, I had sinned and caused this to come. Other said Satan was to blame for the situation, trying to steal my baby's health away. Others told me Jaycee was a gift from God that He wanted me to have. One kind soul told me my daughter "had a demon" in her causing her Down syndrome.

I learned that as I struggled to understand why Jaycee was born with a syndrome and health problems, other Christians, who knew us, were struggling too. As I write this, I want the readers to understand that we were upset with the fact that Jaycee was going to have a harder life, physically, mentally, and medically, than any other child.

Asking questions and trying to understand why isn't horrible unless it impedes your relationship with God. If you get stuck in the blaming and the reasoning and don't move on, then that's a problem. Just as Jesus said, you're asking the wrong question. Your focus is on the wrong part. Look instead what God can do.

The bottom line is....no matter what situation you are in, God is the solution, the peace, and the source of joy. Focus on what God can do in your situation.

In the past few weeks, I have had a few people ask in my presence, "Why would Jaycee have to go through this sickness? I don't understand it."

I don't understand all of it either, but I have found an "answer" that satisfies my soul that maybe I'll get into in another post. I'm not upset that Jaycee got really sick recently. A few years ago, I probably would have been upset. I would have questioned God and been upset that He didn't prevent it from happening. But, not this time. All I feel is gratefulness that God was able to supernaturally bring Jaycee from the brink of death back to life and back home to us again.

God did something in my situation. I'm not looking for someone to blame. I'm not going to lose my focus.