I don’t know if you have ever had the opportunity to work with special needs children but it is an experience that I highly recommend. My experience began when, as a veteran teacher, I was assigned one class of resource science students. Resource classes are for students with a wide range of learning disabilities. I was honestly not looking forward to it since my favorite teaching assignments had always been advanced high school classes of college bound students. It wasn’t a week into this new assignment until I realized I had been missing out on so much joy all those years without them in my classes. I have tried to reflect on why they were so delightful to be around and this is what, I believe, it boils down to: humility and simple trust.

My resource students didn’t worry about all the things that other kids worried about. They were so much more free and joyous. They didn’t worry about what the other kids thought about them. They trusted and they were guileless. They let others look out for them. I will never forget the baptism of one of our special needs kids at our church. If you ever have seen baptisms, you know there is a procedure to it and it is very structured for safety. But when this dear child of God came up out of the water she did a full-on cheer with arms raised high and jumped up and down looking to the sky with the look of ecstasy on her face. She was radiant!

Luke 18:15-17 MSG People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. "Let these children alone. Don't get between them and me. These children are the kingdom's pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God's kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you'll never get in."

Can you imagine letting go and trusting God like this everyday? To step into this we must let go of any thoughts that we are superior to anyone else in any way. We must let go of our self reliance and adopt a God-reliant attitude. We must trust Him and give up trusting ourselves. I really think that it is those of us who are not special needs that have a handicap. We mistakenly think we are smart enough or experienced enough to navigate our day on our own power. We depend on no one and nothing but ourselves. After all, we have diplomas and college degrees. We have passed classes like organic chemistry for crying out loud! We have studied under professors that would make you cry. We are stinking brilliant in our own eyes. We know things.

But can we see our “brilliance” in the light of the creator of the universe? We don’t know what will happen next Tuesday, much less tomorrow or the next hour. We are handicapped and we have no idea. We need to realize it and lean into it so we can experience the Kingdom of God here and now. We need to let go of all thoughts of being self-reliant and become God-reliant. With that will come joy. How do I know? My resource students taught me this.