During this church season of Advent, Christians anxiously await the celebration of Jesus’ birth. We commemorate His arrival in this world on December 25, the Feast of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we await the arrival of the Christ child, my wife and I recently said goodbye to a departing friend who moved to another state to be near family. I’ll call him John for the sake of privacy. John was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) about two years ago, but has displayed ASD symptoms most of his life. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 5,437,988 (2.21%) adults in the United States have ASD.
For the past three and a half years my wife and I walked alongside John, providing him companionship, counsel, and a small lifeboat to climb into during frequent storms he encountered. John first came into our lives by means of our church. One day our priest asked us if we would be willing to help a single man who had recently arrived in our community. We said yes without really knowing what to expect. I share the details below not to glorify my wife and me; give all the glory to God! I share this to make a point which I’ve discussed before—being a follower of Jesus Christ can be messy.
We answered 2 a.m. phone calls so John could rant about whatever was bothering him at the time. We shared meals with him and checked periodically on his welfare and the state of his small apartment. We tried to help smooth the situation when John irritated his neighbors. We helped him move to a new apartment.
We drove him to appointments and to help him tend to his local business affairs when something needed fixing. We provided in-person support when John’ family could not contact him because his phone was (frequently) broken or lost, or when he was simply not answering calls or emails.
We invested many conversations with some of his family members who are active stakeholders in John’s life–over lunch, dinner, coffee, phone calls, and Zoom meetings. We supported John and these same family members during the complex endeavor to have him evaluated for ASD. We coordinated the dedication of funds from our church’s rummage sale to help defer the costs of the evaluation; printed forms and obtained John’s signatures; and prayed for the process. We coordinated with our church members to provide overnight accommodations for John’s family members when they periodically visited the area to check on his welfare.
Walking with John was not easy, but it was very spiritually rewarding and has made us three new friends, including John and two very special members of his family—they know who I mean. As we anxiously await the Feast of the Nativity and the celebration of the Christ child’s birth, Christians should recall that following Christ can get messy—Just read the book of Acts and see.
In June, 2019 I published a blog piece titled “Messy Christianity.” I invite the readers to read it again or discover it for the first time. https://divine-simplicity.com/2019/06/08/messy-christianity/
I wish you all a very blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year. –Zack
Divine Simplicity 