Hard to see

      There are a lot of people going through life with problems that most people don’t see.  Many of the conditions which make life difficult are not visible from a distance.  Honestly, most of us have (at least a few times) seen someone get out of a car in a handicap space and wonder, so, I wonder what that person’s story is; I don’t see anything wrong.

      Of course, just because someone is not using a wheelchair or a white cane or carrying oxygen or limping doesn’t mean that person is healthy.  From a distance cardiac disease, respiratory issues, healing surgeries, and the like have no external signs.  Mercifully, most of us move seamlessly from impatience to consideration by the time we drive by the parking space, but there are just enough times when we want some sort of proof to justify out sympathy.

       And, mercifully, most of us most of the time do have true sympathy for people who may have troubling ailments.

       But society is still lagging on some of the other difficulties people can have that may not be physically based.  Brain disorders and mental illness and like conditions have not found the sympathy and support they deserve.  I don’t think it is lack of awareness, for our daily conversations are filled with references to mental illnesses, brain disorders, personality issues, traumatic events recent and past, addictions, obsessions, abuse, developmental delays, emotional troubles, and such, and most people can grasp that there are neurological and biochemical and physical things that can impact a person.  We know that events or conditions or bad experiences or problems at birth or before birth can cause problems for years or a lifetime.  At least we know intellectually that such things exist.  But they make us very uncomfortable and standoffish.  Maybe because things that can happen unbidden to others’ brains are especially scary and confusing to most of us precisely because they happen to our brains.  Perhaps it is confusion.  Perhaps it is shame.

       We are still very poor responding to and supporting individuals with mental illnesses or brain disorders or emotional conditions.  And part of that is how few of them manifest themselves on the outside of a person.  That’s why some call them “invisible disabilities.”   My son’s ADHD and anxiety were overlooked or downplayed when he was a child because he didn’t look like anything was wrong with him, other than he acted really zoomy.  But his brain has some processing snarls and miswiring that cause issues other than hyperactivity which he has had to learn to work around and with.  Several people I am related to or very close to have been dealing with depression and anxiety, but most people wouldn’t know that about them.  As a pastor dealing with families for many years, I know for sure that more families have members with diagnosed or suspected mental health issues, but most cope in hidden silence.  It is still uncomfortable to talk about.  And it is hard to get help and support.

       All of which makes me reassured and hopeful as we have been observing May being Mental Health Awareness month with resources from the UCC’s “Wider Welcome” emphasis and our local Family and Children’s Services of Ithaca.  Sunday, Karen Schachere from F&C will lead our AfterWord, and I encourage you to attend and to avail yourself of the resources in the narthex and online.

      It is time to be kinder, more supportive, and more caring of those with “hidden” disabilities and the people who love them.


                                                                          In Christ,
                                                                       
                                                                           David


Texts For Sunday Worship:
      From the New Testament         Acts 7:55-60
      From the Epistles                   1 Peter 2:2-10
      From the Gospels                   John 14:1-14