Matthew Chapter 8 – Matthew (& Megan) Respond: Learning Challenges (Part 14)

Categories: Learning Challenges, Léo’s Insights 2018-2019 Academic Year

Tags:

Posted on

We have now heard the story of Matthew from two perspectives, mine and Matthew’s parents. Now, we are going to hear from the man himself. Needless to say, Matthew has changed a lot since the day we first met him, so many years ago. Let’s take a look at how Matthew sees things, today:

I, Matthew and my wife Megan are blessed to have Léo & Faye in our lives. We are especially thankful for the many ways in which they have helped me through the struggles of getting an education. The love and care that they have shown me goes beyond what their job required of them. They have always encouraged me to always keep on and never give up. 
 
I don’t have much to add to this account of my life, as what has already been said is sufficient.

I want to thank my parents for their love and unending support. Thank you to my Dad for the many hours of training in the shop and for preparing me for my apprenticeship. Thank you to my Mom for never giving up on me and for changing her life in order to give me the best chance at mine.
 
I currently work as a mechanic, handyman and fuel deliverer at Timberbound Construction, a logging company based in La Crete, Alberta. My wife and I are happily married and she says her list of Matthew’s flaws would not be long at all!

I would be willing to bet that Matthew did not actually write this, but got a bit of help. This is not at all to say that Matthew is lacking! Indeed, we are promised that where we are weak He (God) is strong.

How does this make sense? Simple. God provided Matthew with many helpers to make his life easier and provided him a soul mate to help him meet his obligations in life as an adult. Megan, his helpmeet, likely helped Matthew meet this need, which would have been difficult for him to do on his own.

I am not sure about you, but I suspect the last sentence especially was composed by Megan herself in answer to my jokingly saying that she could likely list a few of Matthew’s flaws since we were not aware of any. Can’t you just feel the love!

Matthew has always been able to do what was necessary to get the job done. That is how he approached his education. That is how he has accomplished his goals. That is why his rendition of the story is short. As he succinctly said, why should he repeat what has already been said? No sense in wasting time. That is Matthew!

I sincerely hope that you were blessed by the Matthew story. I also pray that you were able to see how man’s secular solutions may actually reduce or eliminate our seeking God for His solutions.

I mentioned earlier that there were four sides to this story. There was my perspective, the parents’ perspective and of course, Matthew’s. The fourth one is best described as the truth. For that one, we will have to go to the scripture.

Now, in case you did not know this, if one was to start at the beginning of the Bible and move forward one verse at a time and simultaneously went to the last verse and moved backwards one verse at a time, you would arrive at the central verse of the Bible which is Psalm 118:8.

Now, one would think that the central verse must be,… well, “central” to the overall message of scripture. It reads, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man.”

Matthew’s family had faith. Trusting in God and what He has created turned out to be a much wiser approach to preparing Matthew for his future than putting our confidence in man and his institutions.

Why should anyone be surprised that believing God produced better results than accepting man’s feeble attempt to fix him? The creator knows infinitely more than the created. Trusting Him just makes more sense.

Now I want to conclude this story with a caveat and a suggestion. I am fully aware that there are children who have issues that are much worse than Matthew’s and I want to be sure that I do not discourage parents of children with severe issues. Still, no matter what, faith will carry us through any situation.

I also want to be sure not to discourage people from using tools that have been developed to help children cope with their differences. Knowing that all good things come from the Lord from whom there is no variation or change, any good thing should be employed with thankfulness.

If we avoid putting man and his solutions or institutions first, God can work, even if through human agencies and tools, but if we place our confidence in man rather than trusting God, we limit Him.

Matthew’s story is one of faith and of trusting in God. In fact, every human story involves people with special needs and every story is one of faith. The question is “faith” in what?

Previous Post:

Next Post: