My sister

My older sister goes to high school like any other normal teenager, she goes to swim team, she even does drama; however, she is not your average teenager. She is nineteen and has down syndrome.

"Mom! Are those people staring at me?" Kaitlyn asked.

"No, I don't think so, honey," her mom replied.

"Yes, they are, mom. Why are those people staring at me?"

"Maybe it's because they think you are a cute kid."

"But I don't like it," Kaitlyn replied.

In reality, judging eyes were looking at Kaitlyn's small stature, flat face, upward slanted eyes, and low set nose. My sister, Kaitlyn, has Down's syndrome, a congenital disorder in which the individual has an extra chromosome which causes some physical differences, difficulties, some learning delays, and an absence of some social skills. In her nineteen years, Kaitlyn has become accustomed to the pointing fingers, whispering, and giggles from onlookers. Should she have to become accustomed to this? Should anyone with a physical or mental disability have to deal with this? Onlookers’ verbal and physical actions towards someone with a special need causes these individuals to feel uncomfortable. People typically judge people because of looks; remember that thing called a first impression? To me, Kaitlyn is just like my younger sister; she participates in our family like any other member. In society, however, Kaitlyn is often looked down upon and avoided because of her differences. My mom recognizes the isolation that Kaitlyn unjustly receives because of her disabilities. My mom often goes to South Aiken and eats lunch with Kaitlyn. If it were not for my mom going and visiting with Kaitlyn, she would eat another lunch alone. While reading a magazine, I came across a troubled mother of a son with a non-curable congenital heart condition. "He is teased about not being able to participate fully in phy-ed. He is teased about not being able to participate in any of the popular sports. He is even teased about having a “disease”. He is often told by his peers not to touch them or their belongings because they don’t want disease germs." Do people think that he chose to have this condition? Did he want to go through countless surgeries? No. He dealt with what he was given and tried to live as normal as he could, but was ostracized because of the limitations his conditions caused. When dealing with people with disabilities, people must remember how they feel. If the shoe was on the other foot, I'm just guessing, people would want to be treated like any other human, given the same opportunities, and accepted for who they are. Kaitlyn will graduate from South Aiken next year, successfully completing the ACES program that will have prepared her for the competitive work force. She then plans to attend either Clemson or Carolina to take part in the Life program teaching her how to live independently while taking part in the college experience. Kaitlyn has grasped every opportunity that has come her way and has moved leaps and bounds from the beginning. On the other hand, some are not as fortunate as Kaitlyn. For these other individuals people must use patience and try and be understanding.

John 4 Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

During this time it was not acceptable for a Jew to talk to a Samaritan. Jesus knew that his path would take him through Samaria and this would present the chance of confrontation; nevertheless, He took the path knowing there was a chance for good to be gained.

Without going to much further into John and Jesus talking with the samaritan woman i think we can already connect the story to our modern day lives.

In Kaitlyns case people avoid her as if she is something bad. All people with disabilites are a blessing.

When Jesus went through Samria he met a Samaritan lady. This Samaritan lady was an outcast in society. She had five husbands and the man she was with now was with another man whom she was not married to. After talking to Jesus she acceptaded the fact that she needed a Savior. This Samaritan lady was a blessing, even though she was diffrent from the Jews Jesus took the time and invested in a relationship with her. This invested realtionship florished into more people accepting Jesus as their Savior.

Although accepting people with disabilties is not the same as accepting Jesus Christ we should all try to walk the path that Jesus walked and set aside differences and invest in realtionships. You never know what you may get out of a realtionship with anyone, even if the are "diffrent". Just keep in mind that when you form a realtionship with someone you must be patient, you must be kind, you must show them the love of Jesus Christ and just how amazing He is.

Love is patient, love is kind. [ 1 Corinthians13:4 ]