Joanne Rogers (Mrs Rogers) once told me about a gentleman named Chris de Vinck who wrote an essay - and then a book - called "The Power of the Powerless."
It was about Chris' brother Oliver, who was profoundly disabled, but about how Oliver had the power to select people in and out of his life. Those who had no time for Oliver moved on, but those who found a place in their heart for him were kind, caring and spiritual people. And so Oliver's neighborhood became Chris' neighborhood, filled with kind, caring and spiritual people. In fact, Chris was so impressed with how one classmate helped to feed Oliver that he decided to share his life with her in marriage.
Joanne told me about Chris and Oliver when I introduced her to my brother Lewis, who had Down Syndrome. And I realized it what Chris wrote applied to our family as well.
And so it did here.
They took their disabled son home from the hospital and loved him and cared for him. Those who had a place in their hearts for him - at the church - gifted the family with money and love. And when the money was lost, others came forward.
Love is at the root of everything. All learning. All parenting. All relationships. Love, or the lack of it. And those who at first appear powerless to us have the power to tap the wellspring of love and make ours a better world