DISABILITY
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God has blessed Matt with a wife and two children , the joy of family is mingled with frustration , for example , in some of the things that he can ’ t do with his children . Expressing his grief to God and close family has helped him process it , often through the poignant language of the psalms . And grief is not Matt ’ s permanent posture because of his unsinkable hope in the resurrection : ‘ I don ’ t think you can fully own your grief unless you know this life isn ’ t everything . It would be too crushing . There ’ s a buoyancy in the resurrection which keeps me from the abyss .’
A text which Matt finds helpful is 2 Corinthians 12:9 , God ’ s assurance to Paul that his grace is sufficient , his power perfect in weakness . ‘ At the end of that passage , Paul embraces weakness . That ’ s the lesson I ’ m still learning . Not to chafe against the weakness . To accept that weakness is God ’ s way .’ Every Sunday we see God ’ s power in weakness . We watch Matt struggle to the podium , we see the effort and sense the frustration . Then Matt smiles , he prays , and God ’ s word descends like dew .
Church members : The Harrisons
The Harrison family has been at Christ Church Bromley since 1979 . Patrick and Caroline ’ s first child , Katie , was born on Caroline ’ s twenty-third birthday , a gift from God . But within hours Katie experienced seizures in rapid succession , known medically as status epilepticus . ‘ The world changed . Suddenly your baby was ill and no-one knew why . It was frightening ,’ Caroline recalls . It soon emerged that Katie had cerebral palsy with multiple physical and mental disabilities .
The reluctance of family members to accept this was the first hurdle the couple encountered . Another was the difficulty with scheduling Katie ’ s baptism in light of unpredictable hospital stays . Throughout this difficult time , ‘ God was very real ’ and many prayers were answered . The most hearttugging prayer was that Katie would be able to recognise Caroline as her mum , a prayer God has answered in abundance .
Two other children , Lucy and James , followed . ‘ They brought healing and , if I ’ m honest , acceptability .’ Then a fourth child , Sarah , was born , also with cerebral palsy . ‘ I didn ’ t know how I would cope , but God gives me strength . Even at university , my favourite verse was “ My grace is sufficient for you , my power is made perfect in weakness .”’ Today Katie , 41 , and Sarah , 35 , are indispensable members of our church family . Katie loves to worship by waving her fists and whooping , Sarah shyly giggles , and we are all uplifted by their joy .
Jazz drummer : John Williams
John Williams has been in our Christ Church Bromley family since 1985 . John was once fit and active , working full-time , playing tennis and performing as a drummer in several jazz bands . ‘ It gave me opportunities to perform at radio stations , BBC television theatres and other studios ,’
John recalls . He and Diane had been married for five years and wanted children , but John started displaying ‘ weakness ’ in his legs which couldn ’ t be diagnosed . A specialist at Guy ’ s Hospital advised them there was a fifty percent chance that their children would inherit this condition , so Diane decided to separate from him , and two years later , the couple divorced amicably . Diane now has children from another marriage .
Two years later , John ’ s ‘ weakness ’ was diagnosed as hereditary spastic paraplegia , a genetic condition which causes progressive loss of mobility . Both his siblings have also been diagnosed with this illness .
John ’ s mobility continued deteriorating to the point where he had to leave work . In what John terms ‘ a wonderful example of God ’ s provision ’ he was offered a role as premises manager at our church . Not only did God provide employment , but a church family to love and support him . John can no longer work , but he remains a muchloved member of our church family , known for his humour , fortitude and unceasing thankfulness to God . And though his jazz days are over , he now drums in the church worship band !
We ’ re sorry to tell you that John died on 22 May 2022 and the words about him and the photograph appear here with the permission of his family .
Charmaine Yip
Charmaine is a part-time Christian writer who loves engaging with the Word of God . She feels blessed to be in the Christ Church Bromley family .
The Harrison family have been members of Christ Church Bromley for more than 30 years .
John Williams , centre back , wearing a black jacket with a band called the Blazers . The picture was taken around 1987 .