Made in His Image, part 1

I recently had the privilege of speaking at a women's conference under the title of "Made in His Image: Understanding Disabilities from a Biblical Perspective." Seems an odd topic to speak on at a conference for women, doesn't it? But there you have it -- that's what I was asked to present and so that's what I did.

I've spent a lot of time gathering my thoughts and putting them on paper (or screen) and thought I might post the transcript here for those who weren't able to attend the conference and who care what I have to say. There's a lot more that I wanted to say that didn't make it in because I was limited to an hour of speaking time and didn't think the ladies would appreciate my pulling an all-nighter on them.

I won't share the entire transcript in one post because it's too long and no one likes to read long posts (the presentation was about 55 minutes long). So, stay tuned for more over the next few days. I invite your thoughts and comments as I go along.

Made in His Image: Understanding Disabilities from a Biblical Perspective

Introduction

I’d like to thank my friend for asking me to share with you today. I appreciate the opportunity the Lord has given me to share some things on my heart with you. I want to spend our time together telling you a little about myself and my family and the path through life the Lord has placed us on, and wrestling through some tough God questions that we’ve encountered along our journey.

I grew up in a Christian home and the Lord graciously saved me from my sins at an early age. My parents are people who love the Lord and who are committed to His Word. There were many times when they would ask me, “Have you prayed about it?” and “What does the Bible say about it?”

After I graduated from college, almost fifteen years ago, I began to work with Answers in Genesis. Ten years ago, I met and, six months later, married my husband Seth.

We struggled with infertility for several years before I became pregnant with our first baby. Like most parents, we were thrilled and began dreaming about our baby’s future. When our son was born in 2008, Seth was sure he would be a star running back in the NFL and I knew that we had a future valedictorian on our hands.

And then the doctor visits began.

From the beginning of his life, Buddy struggled to eat, to sleep, to gain weight. So we were back and forth to our pediatrician’s office many times during those first few months. When he was two months old, our pediatrician heard a heart murmur in Buddy and sent us to the local children’s hospital where the pediatric cardiologist diagnosed him with a condition called supravalvular aortic stenosis. That means that there’s something wrong with a section of his aorta.

Let me stop here and talk a little about the aorta. Now, I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on TV, but I do want to share with you some amazing features about the aorta.

Photo courtesy of iradonline.com

After your heart pumps your blood to your lungs to pick up the oxygen your body needs, it brings it back through the heart and sends it out to the rest of your body through the aorta.

The aorta is the largest artery in your body. It carries and distributes oxygen rich blood to all the rest of your smaller arteries throughout your body.

The walls of the aorta consist of three layers of connective tissue and elastic fibers. These fibers allow the aorta to stretch to prevent over-expansion due to the pressure that is exerted on the walls by blood flow.

There’s a valve that allows the blood to enter the aorta and keeps it from flowing back into the heart. Isn’t that amazing? Doesn’t the way this aorta is structured – its ability to stretch and contract—just scream “there is a Designer!”? When we look at this, it’s easy for us, as Christians and those who believe God is the creator, to say, “Yes, of course, there’s a good, loving God who designed it all!”

But what happens to God’s goodness when a baby, our son, is born with an aorta that is constricted? Supravalvular aortic stenosis. Supravalvular meaning “just above the valve” and stenosis, meaning “constricted.”

You can imagine what happens when a section of your aorta becomes too constricted. Many babies with this condition undergo open heart surgery to correct it within the first few months of their lives. And some need multiple surgeries. Just since the beginning of this year, I’ve known about a dozen children who have had this operation. And there are many others waiting to find out when they’ll need to have theirs repaired. So far, Buddy hasn’t needed the surgery but we don’t know what will happen in the future.

In response to this, one lady said, “This is a problem I have wondered about—how physically imperfect newborns can be admired as "the handiwork of God," because it casts such doubt on God.”

She has a point. We routinely point to God’s handiwork in our children—they are fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator, right? So do “imperfections” really cast doubt on the Creator?

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11