JAMES SPRINKLE's Page

Faith Focus
Angels Among Us

By James Sprinkle

I would like to speak for just a few moments about something very dear to me. I like to refer to them as “angels among us”. You see, going on 17 years ago, my wife Ann and I were blessed with a child being born who had a condition known as inverted chromosome 15. Our little Andrew—now not so little—cannot walk, talk or crawl, has seizures, and is totally dependent on us. A child like Andrew does not have the opportunity to face many of the trials and tribulations that accompany coming of age. His experience is different, but no less important. This blessing given to us has resulted in my becoming the director of an organization called Families Helping Families, which serves all of the area known as Region 6. This includes a program supported by the state called Early Steps, which assists newly born children faced with challenges like Andrew’s. It will be interesting for you to know that most of the people working at this organization also have family members with a disability.

Over the years, we have had many people tell us what “angels” we were to be chosen to take care of such children. I am here to tell you that this is certainly not true. You see, these children are themselves the angels. Their very existence forces us to remove ourselves from the everyday life we once knew and enter a world which before was totally unknown to us. We are now faced with a bittersweet life beset with challenges in which we have no choice but to draw on something deep inside of us, which in effect draws us closer to the one who created us.

Our child is helpless, no doctor can fix it. It indeed seems a paradox. Jesus faced many sufferings in his life. Should we not face the pain given to us with similar gratitude? Our children, by their very existence, open a spiritual door for us to enter and a view not seen from our former lives. They are indeed angels as we are now forced to grow spiritually if we are to survive. A humbleness develops as we see how truly helpless we are.

I now see that the kingdom of God exists in these children. How else could it be? Often, it is we the parents who really face the pain, not our children. They simply accept their existence with no remorse, but as they are created. Rarely do you hear complaints. Do you realize that, at this time, over 150 children are born each month just in the area between here and Shreveport with disabilities? Oh, the pain we as parents face, but along with it the joy. Families Helping Families stands by to actively assist the parents to cope with and grow with these angels as our God continues to bring His kingdom into this world. The opportunity for much spiritual growth is presented to each of us who is willing to partake in this endeavor.

The experience of caring for children like Andrew puts new meaning in the Lord’s Prayer. Our Father, which art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. We look forward to the day when, as the prayer says, God’s kingdom is indeed brought here on Earth so that there truly will be no more suffering by humanity. Maybe our children’s existence can help with this. Until then, should you know of anyone with a child who faces the same kinds of challenges as we do, please invite them to call us, meet with us and share with us. We welcome them and seek to connect them in a way that through their journey they may also have joy.

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