My heart was softened at church yesterday. During the first three services on Sunday, I typically hang out in the sound booth/production area, in case something were to glitch, blow up, break, or have “technical difficulties.” I’m there to jump in and fix stuff as needed, and to help “watch” the flow of the services.
Every Sunday, at the 11:10 service, a family comes in. I’m not sure who is related to who, or how many there are, but to me, it looks like a mom, dad & a daughter. They bring in three special needs adults. One looks to be a lady around 40 with severe down syndrome. One appears to be very invalidish…maybe in his late 30s, in a wheel chair. Another, I couldn’t see his face, but I could tell he was older and also physically unresponsive..maybe a quadrapeligic. I’m not sure. But he has terets.
I typically don’t ever really pay close attention. But this time, I did. The whole service. The daughter, who looks to be 13 or so…holds the hand of the woman during the music. Helps her clap. Interacts with her with complete freedom. The “mother and father” help the first man throughout by wiping his face (he drools) and cleaning him up when he spits up on himself. They touch his arms and comfort him when he has a coughing fit.
I think what was the most touching was towards the end of the service. The man with terets seemed to be scared of something all of the sudden. The muscles in his neck tensed up and he started looking around fast. The father leaned over to him and rested his head on his shoulder and just held him. He put his hand on his head and stroked his hair. He squeezed his arm and held his other hand tightly. The other man relaxed.
He felt love.
For some reason, I have never thought about a human’s need for love. Well, I have, but always thought about it conciously. I know when I feel loved and affirmed. I know when I feel alone and hurt. I can sense these feelings and most of the time do what is in my power to get over them. I am able to talk about my needs.
I’m not a doctor or a psychologist, so I am probably off here, but just based on what I saw, I don’t think these three very special people can conciously express their needs. I’m not sure if they even know “I feel lonely today” or “Man, I could use a hug.”
But they NEED it anyway. And this family…I am literally speechless to the way that they showed them love…unconditional, accepting love. It was such a reflection of our Father. Probably one of the purest reflections I have ever seen.