The other day, as my wife and I were talking while we were doing the dishes, she told me something that made me listen very closely. We had been watching the Christmas special "Nestor the Long Ear Donkey" and so we were talking about it. She made the comment about it and Rudolph I found very interesting. She said that both Nestor and Rudolph had issues with physical defects which caused them problems with those around them. She said that the shows took these creatures and ended up showing them doing something special. Their "defects" actually turned out to be something they used for a great purpose. Nestor got Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem while Rudolph got Santa through to deliver toys to the kids. She wondered if that wasn't the reason the characters had the "defects". She figured the ones who wrote these shows did so to encourage kids not to give up because of their "defect" whatever it may be. She was much more aware than most folks when it came to the shows.
In college, I had a friend who was born deformed from birth. His knees didn't bend and his arms were basically crossed. His "defects" didn't seem to bother him at all. He worked on cars and even on electronics as though he was perfectly normal. My Mother met him and stayed with his family when they came out to my graduation. My mother asked me how come I didn't tell her that he was handicapped. I told her he didn't see himself as handicap. He wouldn't let his deformity stop him from living a normal life. People that have "defects" often let their "defects" control their lives and never live life to the fullest. They view themselves as defective and it distorts their whole existence. Others make folks with defects or handicaps feel like they are less of people because of their particular problems. Neither of those views are healthy. Just because someone is not perfect physically does mean they are less of a person than someone who is. God even used a donkey to get a message through to Baalam when nothing else did. God uses foolish things of the world to confound the wise and the weak things to take down the strong. We all have our own defects yet God chooses to use us for His glory and kingdom even with our defects. After all, God doesn't wait for us to become perfect before He accepts us but loves us as we are and loves us too much to let us stay the way He found us!
Just as Nestor and Rudolph found their special gift in their "defects", we can rest assured that God has a plan to use our "defects" in ways we never imagined possible. Sometimes it takes a while for it to show up! Remember that God uses "cracked pots"! Thanks Heidie!
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