April 9, 2021

Gratitude for every life. Therapeutic suffering. Public lies. Breaking the bonds of death.

Gratitude for Every Life
One of the anomalies/tragedies of our times is this:

Individuals with Down syndrome generally have outstanding social skills and in a supportive setting can be fairly high-functioning. Due to improving medical care, the life expectancy for someone born with Down syndrome has increased from twenty-five in the early 1980s to more than fifty today. In many other ways as well, a child born with Down syndrome today has brighter prospects than at any other point in history. Early intervention therapies, more inclusive educational support, legal protections in the workplace, and programs for assisted independent living offer a full, active future in the community. Adoption agencies report a high demand for children with Down syndrome.

However, the abortion rate for fetuses diagnosed with Down syndrome tops ninety percent. 

“At Home with Down Syndrome: On Disability and Gratitude” explores “the profound truth that every life is filled with meaning, and every child is a source of joy.”

Therapeutic Suffering
The Courage to Suffer by Daryl R. Van Tongeren and Sara A. Showalter Van Tongeren argues that we don’t flourish after we suffer but in and through suffering. This is not a message we hear much about in our culture, and often not even in the church. Most of the time we’re encouraged to grieve and then move on—that is, hurry to get to the other side of suffering. But suffering as a means of grace is a repeated theme in Scripture and the Christian tradition. More power to the Tongerens’ book, written to help therapists counsel their suffering clients.

Public Lies
“Yes, Experts Will Sometimes Lie to You” is something we’ve learned afresh during the current pandemic. But it’s not just health care professionals who succumb to the temptation.

Storms Far and Near
Here’s something I don’t spend much thought on: “If a major solar storm were to sweep across Earth, would today’s electrical and communications infrastructure be resilient enough to endure its impact?” It’s happened once before in the age of electricity, with unsettling results. As you might suspect, this author thinks it’s likely to happen again.

Breaking the Bonds of Death
Toward the end of this video, as a newborn iguana finds himself trapped in the clutches of a hoard of snakes, I couldn’t help but think of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Not sure I’ve ever read of anyone comparing Jesus to a baby iguana, but I suppose there have been worse analogies.

Grace and peace,

Mark Galli
markgalli.com