A Redeemed Identity

She stood before us smiling yet unable to hide her nervousness, then she graciously drew us closer by her vulnerability. She answered questions that we her audience had been trained not to ask. She invited us to laugh as she explained her disabilities through an interaction she had had with a young child. She enlarged the borders of our minds and blessed us with new understanding.

We her audience stood to express our gratitude and when the clapping died down she told us that she had wanted to sing for us but had been afraid. One by one we cried out and asked that she would bless us yet again and sing to us. She was visibly trembling when she took the microphone but once more she drew us in by her vulnerability.

She told us she had chosen the song because it expressed the deep struggle of her soul. She sang the song "Never Alone." I could hear both pain and faith as she sang the chorus again and again,
"I cried out with no reply
And I can't feel you by my side
So I'll hold tight to what I know
You're here, and I'm never alone."
Once more the borders of our hearts were enlarged and our understanding was expanded as she allowed us to witness someone who was choosing to walk by faith and not by feeling.

I though of Karis when I read the story of Jabez. Jabez's mother gave him a name that reflected the difficulties she had had in giving him birth. His name means sorrow and pain. After a difficult birth Karis had received a name that reflected her mother's faith.

Karis shared with us that she had been a very active baby in her mother's womb and that when it came time for her birth her umbilical cord had been wrapped around her neck. With each push during the delivery the cord had become tighter and tighter as a result of this she suffered with Cerebral Palsy. Her mother held onto what she knew and named her daughter Karis (a gift from God) Joy.

Jebez was an honorable man and he asked for a redemption of his identity when he called out to God in prayer. "If only you would bless me, extend my border, let Your hand be with me, and keep me from harm, so that I will not cause any pain," Karis' identity goes far beyond her disability. We her audience were blessed by God through her gift to us. We experienced joy as she drew us in by her vulnerability and enlarged the borders of both our understanding and our hearts.