DISABILITY
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But perhaps they should . Not only because we represent 15 % of the global population . 2 Or because we are the only marginalized group you can join at any time . But because disability is a gift .
I don ’ t mean this in a feel-good movie way rooted in toxic positivity . 3 I mean disability is a gift ; an imaginative force that calls us to celebrate the biodiversity of creation , an invitation to create new systems and structures that allow all body-minds to thrive . We already have a category for how beneficial disability can be in nature ; we just don ’ t apply it to humans .
No one mocks sharks for communicating without speaking . The sound effect you hear when you think ‘ shark !’ is courtesy of Jaws , not nature . No one claims kangaroos are feeble because they cannot walk backwards . Or that cheetahs have chronic fatigue syndrome because they languish almost all hours of the day . They are fast and fierce ! They just don ’ t expend their energy equally throughout the day , much like us spoonies . 4 The ostrich is not weaker than the robin because it cannot fly . We do not dismiss the turtle because they are deaf ; or elephants because they are born blind .
Throughout creation , we value the biodiversity that disability brings . We are just out of practice applying this inclusive thinking to humans .
But what if we tried ? What if we reconsidered the way we understand disability in our society , so that disabled people like me are not just included , but can belong ? What if , instead of a symbol of sadness , you saw my mobility scooter as I do – a vibrant , empowering throne that allows me to access the world with facility and freedom ?
Perhaps if we expanded our imaginations to understand the gift of disability , we could experience the divine presence in our disabled neighbours instead of always trying to pray them away . Perhaps then we could understand God as I do , as disabled .
But being disabled isn ’ t just a series of medical appointments and can ’ t dos . It ’ s a culture and an embodied experience that shifts over time and can teach nondisabled people what it means to be human . Our body-minds and access needs morph over time , much like what we experience of God in scripture and in our lives .
God takes on forms outside the norm , just like I do . God is burning bush and rock and cloud and fire . God is in the still , small voice and pregnant belly and the guiding stars above . God sits atop a throne with wheels reminiscent of my wheelchair . God communicates in groans too deep to utter , outside of our spoken alphabetic texts , much like our friends who are nonspeaking . God is mocked and abandoned , and God ’ s imperishable body retains the beautifully disabling scars of our redemption . God is disabled .
And so am I . I am proud to be disabled because my disabled body is made in the image of the divine . My disabled body is so rare , science is still discovering the depths that she contains . My nerves burn , but
fire is what enriches the seeds of the redwoods so the entire forest can flourish . My leg is as cold as ice from lack of circulation , but it is ice that synchronizes the ocean ’ s tide . My body – my disabled body – is composed of the same stuff as the stars . My disabled body is divine .
My Body is Not a Prayer Request :
Disability Justice in the Church
Amy Kenny
Dr Amy Kenny is a disabled scholar and a Shakespeare lecturer who hates Hamlet . Her work has been featured in Huff Post , Teen Vogue , The Mighty , and Sojourners . Her book , My Body is Not a Prayer Request : Disability Justice in the Church is published by Brazos ( May 2022 ).