I was reading a letter from UCP CEO Judith McCowan, and I could not believe it!
My son Tim is a UCP client. He is 30 years old, stands about 4’5”, walks slowly with a walker, and is at about a one-year-old mental level. He has mastered a few words and signs to communicate. Tim has always required 24/7 care, but his energy and joy are infectious, making caring for him a blessing rather than a chore.
One of his favorite words is “Hi!!” He learned early on that “Hi!!” almost always gets a response and a smile. That is hugely important to Tim because he absolutely loves people. He loves watching them and loves interacting with them.
My wife Shelley, the other five of our children and I had always considered it our blessed responsibility to take care of Tim.
But about four years ago I realized that was
not
my primary job.
One of my most important roles as a parent is to help my children nurture and grow their gifts so they can pass them along. Tim’s gift is the impact he has on others. He has impacted our family by showing us how to embrace the world and ALL others with joy. He impacts those in church: “I love it when I hear him during services!” And the shoppers in the mall, who stop to say:
“Thank you so much for bringing him.”
And then there are the several who have shared
“Tim is the reason I am a special education teacher today.”
Tim makes others pause, frequently smile, and think… and at that moment I believe they are especially open to God’s direction.
So I concluded that my primary job was
not
to take care of Tim.
Rather my job was to help him in his mission to help others.
At that point, we doubled our efforts to get Tim out into the community.
And so when I read the letter from UCP’s Judith McCowan, I couldn’t believe it. In it, she explained how UCP’s mission is now, much more than ever, to get their clients out and involved in their community. She talked about how this shift to greater inclusion will have an impact that extends far beyond the benefit to participants. Her words reinforced exactly what we have experienced with Tim:
our community will be better off for having been touched by these individuals.
It described Tim’s mission so well, I felt compelled to give Judith a call and thank her.
She shared with me that some clients and caregivers were struggling with this change. While I understand the concerns, I also know that getting Tim and others out into the community is the right thing to do. Touching and teaching others is the special gift my son and many other UCP clients have to give others. It is what they have been created to do. So I told Judith that if I could help her get the message out, I would be happy to do so. That’s the point of this email.
I encourage you to embrace this concept of community participation and support this effort.
If you want to learn more--or learn why I am so certain of this—please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.
While only a few days old Tim had to be rushed to intensive care… and within an hour of arriving he went into a Grand Mal seizure. My prayer as I watched the good doctors and nurses come to Tim’s aid was
“Lord if you give him to me for just a little while I will make sure he makes a difference.”
And at that moment, before the medication was even given to Tim, he came out of his seizure.
By reading this message you have helped me keep that prayed promise. Thank you.
Paul Zabroske
https://www.facebook.com/dadblessed1/
Dadblessed1@gmail.com
717-659-1054
