Why Don't you spend more time with me??

We just got back from two weeks of Joni And Friends Family Retreats. It was a great time seeing old friends and making new ones. One of our favorite friends is Ryan, pictured here. He is fun-loving with a gentle and yet curious spirit. When we get together we laugh alot.

One day, Ryan and I were talking about how wierd Marceaux is. Ryan ask me, "Why." I responded, "I don't know."  He asked again, "But why?" Now, Ryan has autism and likes to ask alot of questions and will persistanly keep asking. So this went on for awhile. Finally I said, "Well, that's just the way God made him." He proceded to ask, "Why?" I said, "I don't know. I'll have to ask him when I get to heaven." He again asked, "Why?" Running out of answers, I decided to ask him a question. "Don't you have any questions you'd like ask God when you get to heaven? If you could ask God a question, what would you ask Him?"  He said, "I would ask him why he doesn't spend more time with me."

I was shocked. Of all the questions we wonder in this world and all he wants to know is why He doesn't spend more time with him. I didn't quite know what do say. I didn't understand why he felt that way. So I asked, "Is Jesus your best friend?" He said, "Yes." Then I said, "Well, if you asked Jesus to be your best friend, he is always with you. He is always spending time with you."

I left that conversation still wondering why he felt that way. From what I know about peole with cognitive disabilities they are very concrete thinkers; they have trouble understaning the abstract. So concepts like God are somewhat hard to understand. What they do understand is what they can see, feel, and hear. They understand friends, family and friendship. People with cognitive disabilities get their understanding about God and experience Him from thier tangible relationships around them (no matter if they have a disabilty or not). So what I truly think Ryan was asking me was, "Why don't you (all people) spend more time with me?"

I think Ryan was speaking out of his heart's need for love and relationships. He needs to be shown that God loves him and that God wants to spend time with him. How will he know this other than from what he experiences from his relationships?

Take the opportunity to build a friendship with someone who needs to be shown who God is and that He loves them! Thanks Ryan for teaching me that lesson!