Something Beautiful

“He has made everything beautiful in its time…” Eccl. 3:11

Before we were to meet our new handicapped foster child for the first time, the social worker warned us we would receive a shock.
She was right ~ we did experience a jolt, but then looked past the passive, empty-eyed child laying on the floor and saw a precious human being in need of love and care. He was only three years old and had been through so much already. His young parents couldn’t cope with his multiple handicaps, and saw him as a curse from God. Na’il was born with a rare combination of two syndromes, part of them deformed facial features.
The first time we were able to take him home for a visit, the little deaf and dumb boy immediately felt at home. The three older special needs children that made up our family accepted him like one of them, and even the dogs were happy to put up with him.

Through the years, against insurmountable odds, Na’il grew into a mischievous, often smiling boy who amazed everyone by the way he tackled problems and found a way to ‘tell’ what he wanted.

Our other children were dark haired and their skin brown tinted, and people often remarked that Na’il was the only one who looked ‘like me’. He was partially albino, with white hair, a very fair skin but blue eyes and a radiant smile. To me it was a compliment, and proof of God’s grace, working in the life of this special child.

We saw his beauty, his sweet character and precious soul, but were often rudely reminded that his outward appearance could trigger a gasping response. People sometimes turned away in shock and disgust, while children screamed and ran away. When that happened, we were grateful Na’il was deaf and at least couldn’t hear those responses.
But we, the professionals who worked with him and the people who accepted him as he was, saw him like a lovely flower lending its sweetness to each day. Na’il touched the lives of those he met in a kind and gentle way, just by being himself.

We live in a world where people spend thousands of dollars on facelifts, diets, body enhancement and trying to look ‘perfect’. God however, has a different opinion. In Samuel 17 we read how the people of Israel expected King Saul’s replacement to be a ‘film star’ type of man. But the Lord had young David in mind, and Samuel told the people in verse 17:
“The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

We’ve noticed that people who either worked with special needs people, or had them in their family, always approached our boy with an open heart. He immediately responded to them. Sometimes, brave, curious children asked what was wrong with him. He liked them too.
I felt sorry for the people whose fear for the unknown made them miss the blessing of getting to know a precious soul. All they had to do was look past the deformities, into Na’il’s heart. Then they would see a boy, rejected by the world, but made beautiful by God.