Picture of Hi I'm Heather
Hi I'm Heather

Come stroll the trails with me on our 44 acre Midwest horse farm where I seek God in the ordinary and always find Him--the Extraordinary--wooing, teaching, wowing me with Himself. Thanks for visiting. I hope you will be blessed!

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Crippled

2 Samuel 9 begins with David asking, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” King Saul was dead; so was Jonathan, Saul’s son and David’s best friend.  David was intent on honoring his promise to show kindness to all of Jonathan’s descendants.  What transpires in 2 Samuel 9 is a beautiful picture of David’s provision for one who could not provide for himself. David was introduced to the sole survivor of Saul’s line—Jonathan’s son who was “crippled in both feet.” (2 Samuel 9:3)  David took the orphaned Mephibosheth into his household to care for him and every day, for the rest of his life, Mephibosheth ate at the king’s table.  Mephibosheth knew he had done nothing to deserve such kindness.  In fact, he refers to himself as a “dead dog”.  This tender chapter of Scripture expanded my thinking about the “special needs” of people we encounter every day.

Mephibosheth’s special needs were obvious; he couldn’t walk.  Unlike Mephibosheth’s crippled feet, many special needs are invisible, like those of our kids.  To the casual observer, our children do not look like they have special needs but all three have multiple neurological and physical special needs resulting from prenatal exposure to alcohol. Consequently, most people expect normal development and interact with Todd and me as though our children are at least smack dab in the middle of the bell curve cognitively, emotionally, and socially.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  We work with numerous specialists to help us provide the care our kids need to grow and flourish.  We advocate for our children constantly with people who do not recognize our needs as a family. 

Whether special needs are visible or invisible, 2 Samuel 9 has held a special place in my heart because of how David sought out and cared for someone who could not care for himself without assistance.  In the lives of our children, Todd and I have witnessed repeatedly God’s perfect provision.  Our Father saw His stranded little lambs, half way around the world in an orphanage, and sent a couple of His servants to retrieve them.  Infested with parasites, malnourished, under-stimulated, and damaged by alcohol, God provided for their every need and brought them to His table of abundance in a country and a home He had prepared for them.  He helped us change their names.  Alla was given the name Anna (from the Hebrew Hannah meaning “God has favored me”); Sergei was given the name Zachary (from the Hebrew Zechariah meaning “the Lord remembers”); Nicholai was given the name Nicolas Sean (Nicholas, from the Greek meaning “victory of the people” and Sean, of Hebrew and Irish origins meaning “God is gracious”).  God helped us give all three the same life verse:  “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)  Through the many hard times, they have all clung to God’s promise in their life verse.  So have Todd and I. 

By raising three kids with so many invisible special needs, God has shown Todd and me our own need for His loving provision. Through all the times of feeling helpless to help our children, I have discovered that I am a “special needs” person, though the world would not designate me as such.  I am a “dead dog”.  Aren’t we all without God? I have discovered my own inability to walk on my own, just like Mesphibosheth. Yet, in my “crippled” state, I see that God always goes to bat for us, always bats a thousand, is never unnerved by curve balls from the enemy’s pitching arm, and hits home runs every time our “team” needs one, causing us to stand up and cheer with arms raised. (I’ve got the Brewers on my mind!) God’s perfect provision for all of us has strengthened our faith and our witness.  I fully expect God to continue providing for us.  I don’t know HOW He will provide, but I am certain that He WILL provide.  There is no peace like the peace of knowing God’s provision.  There is no excitement like waiting and watching to see just how God is going to swing the bat.

I see David at his best in 2 Samuel 9.  His heart and his actions toward Mephibosheth closely parallel God’s covenant with all of us “dead dogs”. David kept his covenant with Jonathan—going against every worldly expectation of a new king toward a former king—by searching for Saul’s offspring, not to destroy but to bless.  In His mercy, God not only refrains from giving us what we deserve and/or expect He seeks us to show us His loving kindness through His plan of salvation in Jesus. Even more, though most of us would be grateful for such a God to sustain us with crumbs, He insists on bringing us up from the floor and seating us with Himself at His table, where the choicest nourishment is to be found in relationship with Him, next to the King of Kings.  Amazing!  But that’s the God I see in this passage of Scripture.  To me, this passage is one of the most vivid descriptions of God’s love and care for all of us “cripples” who are helpless and hopeless without Him.  Whether the world designates us as “special needs” or not, this passage reminds us that we all fall into the “special needs” category before our Maker.  How wonderful to have such a loving provider!

And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table, and he was crippled in both feet.  2 Samuel 9:13

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.  Luke 19:20