Mark P. Schowalter

When I grow up?

Posted: 02/05/2010

When I grow up…??? I use to joke that “when I grow up I’ll…?” and always thought it as a joke. I loved my vocation, my ministry, my work, my chosen lifestyle. That has changed. With my recent retirement from full time parish ministry I now find myself wrestling with this same question; “when I grow up I’ll…?” There are many things that I would like to do. Spend as much time sailing as weather permits. Perhaps start a Dixieland band and perform. Become a goodwill ambassador for Pilot Dogs and the dog guide programs for the blind. Work on writing my second book. All? Perhaps some? And maybe a few? Of these are real possibilities. I could also add to the list travel, lecture series, volunteer hospital chaplaincy, build a boat, just to name a few more. All interesting things to do and all hold my interests of something to do. I am a dreamer. Always have been. When I begin a project I stick to it until it is done. Where I get into trouble is that often times my dreams make the project bigger than life and then I have difficulty getting the project done. A good example would be is if I started to build a boat I wouldn’t be satisfied with a smaller 18 ft day-sailer that could be trailered from lake to lake. My boat would soon consume the garage, and then need to be moved to a larger shed or barn, etc. Instead of it being 18 ft it would now be some 35 ft capable of open-water sailing with living quarters aboard. If I were to travel the destination grows from around the state of Wisconsin visiting many friends to such other places like Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. I have a tendency to attempt to keep things simple yet my dreamer self complicates the story. It is easy to get frustrated when the dreams are just out of reach or unobtainable. I’m not wired internally to be retired. At my age I’m not ready to sit down, sit on the sidelines, or perhaps be just a watcher. I feel a calling to do something. Most of that calling is to do something to help others, work with people, and provide some positive options so that others can make good choices to improve themselves. So I come back to my love for sailing and sailboats. Back in the 1980’s there was an organization in Maine called “The Carpenter’s Boat Shop” where young adults would gather to work on building and repairing boats. This sparks an idea. I also once wrote a proposal for an organization that would work with teenagers on the fringe of society where they would spend time in a structured environment rediscovering their confidence and self-esteem, improving their academic achievements, and learn to make good choices while spending the non-sailing season working on a sailboat(s) and earning time to sail that boat on the Great lakes during sailing season. Suddenly a vision begins to take shape. Broadening that vision also includes perhaps providing a safe environment for fellow clergy to spend time healing from injurious situations within the formal church structures and organizations. The vision, still somewhat unclear, yet becomes a possibility because it is a still voice within that speaks. Yes, God is still speaking… to me. There is still a calling to do ministry… simply in a different style and venue than the local parish. As God speaks, I need to listen prayerfully considering all possibilities, waiting to see what lies over the horizons of my future. When I grow-up I’ll… help someone!

30 years later...

Posted: 11/15/2009

It's hard to believe that it has been 30 years.  30 years this past sunday, December 13 that I lost total sight.  sometimes it feels like only yesterday and that i realize I still have much to learn about being blind.  then there are the moments of daily frustrations when I encounter and remember everyone of those days of those 30 years.  30 years and counting.   There is not a moment during each one of my days that I don't think about losing my sight.  It's a constant reminder as I live in a visual world.  there are things that I do that would be so much easier if I had sight.  it's easy for me to blame myself, put myself into a pity-party, feel sorry for me.  that does me absolutely no good.  It might waste an hour or so of any given day.  It might keep me from accomplishing something that needs to be done.  It does me absolutely no good.   Just as there are those many moments when I wish i still had sight, there are equally as many moments when I give thanks for the gifts that have been realized because I am blind.  there is a unique awareness to my world of darkness that is radiant with a light from within.  There is the gift of listening, the gift of not judging by physical appearance.  there is the gift of hearing the still small voice within that encourages, supports, and nourishes both body and soul.  there is the substance of hope.   Romans 5 speaks to this when Paul writes, "but much more than this, let us rejoice in our sufferings; for sufferings produce endurance; endurance produces character; character produces hope; and where there is hope there is never despair for god has poured God's love into our hearts in Christ jesus whom God has given us."   Christmas is but ten sleeps away.  the hope of the gift of god's hope in Christ is always enough for me to realize that the vail of my darkness only limits me from what you would physically see.  It does not limit from seeing what is found deep within; within the heart and spirit of the one who offers.  With that kind of hope for tomorrow, for myself, for the world in which I live I give thanks that my blindness has allowed me to see visions far beyond my wildest imagination.   Merry Christmas!   Mark

Politics!

Posted: 11/11/2009

Politics A sermon preached on Sunday, November 8, 2009 By Rev. Mark P. Schowalter Based on the Gospel Reading found in Mark 12:38-44 “He continued teaching.”Watch out for the religion scholars. They love to walk around in academic gowns, preening in the radiance of public flattery, basking in prominent positions, sitting at the head table at every church function. And all the time they are exploiting the weak and helpless. The longer their prayers, the worse they get. But they'll pay for it in the end." Sitting across from the offering box, he was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, "The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. All the others gave what they'll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn't afford—she gave her all." [The Message translation] Politics! A word that today can create a wide array of emotional responses, from very good, to very bad. When we hear the word “politics” most immediately think of the U.S. government and either their law-making capabilities or their inability to decide. Often times today the word politics evokes a sense of a career in serving constituents, a position that was once considered community service. Today it effects how that representative will vote; whether or not my decision will get me re-elected and/or how much will my region benefit by my choice. Politics means to both govern and leverage for power and/or control. Yet, it also has other meanings. Let us look for a moment at the root word, “polity”. Polity means to structure an organization into a practical functional group. It might be a country, a state, a county, a community, or even a church. Yes, we have a polity within our community of faith that we attempt to follow. Actually, we have two polities that we believe in; our church’s Constitution, and our Statement of Faith. Please turn to our Statement of Faith as found inside the back cover of your pew hymnal as I will be making references to it along the way. In the gospel lesson this morning we read that Jesus was speaking to his followers and inviting them to “not” be like the scribes. He instructs his followers not to “think moor highly of them than they ought.” (Romans 8) Jesus points out that often times the scribes get caught up in what they “think” they should be doing and forget that they are teachers of the law and should be examples. What happens is that they end up serving themselves rather than God, rather than the temple, rather than the poor. Jesus brings home his message by observing those who are making their offerings in the temple and singles out a poor woman who gives pretty much everything she has to fulfill the law of the temple. Jesus tells his followers that “she has given her all.” (Mark 12:44) First, I believe we can see the parallel of then with now. The scribes were suppose to take care of the poor, the widow, etc. but instead they exploited their position, they used their politics, placement in society for leverage, power, and control over these helpless folks. Take a minute to consider your life and way of doing things. Do you give your all? Or do you attempt to give in relationship to the power and control that it gives you? Second, let’s look closer at the polity of these scribes. I think it becomes fairly clear that the scribes forget to worship God in the temple but instead, worship the law that gives them power, authority, and control. In other words, they worship the polity, the politics of their ways and attempt to call themselves good, perhaps even righteous. So Jesus humbles them by showing them the poor widow and her mite. Many times we fall victim to our polity and politics. We tend to worship the words of a Constitution, the structure of an organization rather than to follow Jesus and do what Jesus would do. We tend to make Constitutions and structure our gods, (small g) rather than following and/or responding to the purposes God (capital G) wants for and from us. So where do we go to find these purposes? Let’s look at the mission statement of our Constitution as printed in your bulletin this morning. Article III: Section 2: We covenant, one with another, to seek and respond to the Word and the will of God, and to walk together in the ways of the Lord, made known to us. We hold it to be the mission of the Church to witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the entire world, while worshipping God, and striving for truth, justice, and peace. We depend on the Holy Spirit to lead and empower us. We pray for the coming of the Kingdom of God, and we look with faith toward the triumph of righteousness and eternal life. What do these words mean to you? Are they rules by which to live? Or a calling to serve one another faithfully as to the best of one’s ability? A second place that we go to find our sense of polity is the Statement of Faith. Please look with me at the following paragraphs; “He bestows upon us God’s Holy Spirit, creating and renewing the Church of Jesus Christ, binding in covenant faithful people of all ages, tongues, and races. God call us into god’s church to accept the cost and joy of discipleship; to be God’s servants to others; to preach the gospel to the entire world and resist the powers of evil; to share in Christ’s baptism and eat at God’s table; to join god in the passion and victory. Again, the polity by which we need to live by is not found in the words of the Constitution nor these guidelines of the Statement of Faith, but in words that call us to action, to respond, to be on the cutting edge of pushing the Church of Jesus Christ out into the world. And that’s hard! Let me propose a change to our thinking. Please do not interpret me as one who does not like tradition. I hold fast to many traditions myself of which I feel uncomfortable when they are challenged and/or lost. Yet, perhaps I have made my own traditions my “gods” (small g) and thus miss the larger picture of my calling? I take pride in wearing my robe for special occasions. It is a robe of honor, blessing, and calling to me. Yet, the moment that I begin to place that robe in front of my purpose and calling into the ministry I am losing my focus on what God has intended for me. (Removes robe and is wearing bib-overalls) Instead, I would much rather that you see me as a “farmer” who is planting seeds; seeds of spiritual growth and opportunity for God to provide that growth that are needed. Now let’s look at some traditions; remember that “mission statement”? What if we simply reduced it to something we could all easily live with, not argue about what it means something that we could faithfully share with others? What if our mission statement for our congregation read, “To learn and understand Jesus more fully… and take Jesus out into the world?” How each one of us does that is entirely up to you and the Lord. God will put you in the right situations at the right time to preach the gospel… and when necessary give you the right words to say. By simply advancing Jesus to each other and the world we become poor widows like the one in our gospel story who gives of herself, not of her abundance. Consider that for a moment? Next, let’s consider our annual church budget? Why do we prepare a budget? Of what purpose does it really serve? Let’s see; it drives the Financial Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Church Council nuts because we are always behind what we “think” we should be at and we are afraid of what will happen if we don’t comply with its numbers, figures, and line items. It becomes difficult to gaze into the financial crystal ball of tomorrow, next week, next month, next year and exactly state what and how things will be. And then the budget becomes the “gospel” of our ministry. It in a sense becomes our ‘god” (small g). Now we can no longer “learn and understand Jesus more fully… and take Jesus out into the world” because we are concerned too greatly about finances. So let me proposed a different stewardship principle. Let us give are all, forget about the budget, forget about worshipping a printed page of numbers, and concern ourselves with helping the poor and needy of our community? Yes, I am casting to the wind my own concerns for a paycheck. That scares me! Scares me silly! Yet if we give totally of ourselves, give our all, then we need to trust in God to provide and God will! I trust that! I know that! I know and trust that! We need to drop the politics within a community of believers. We are all one; one in baptism into one faith by one Holy Spirit. There is none here greater than any other. There is none here who possesses any more privileges, anymore gifts or talents, anymore money or not than anyone else. If one of us is spiritually poor, then we are all spiritually poor because we are not helping that person. If we are rich in the spirit, then we all rejoice because of that fullness of grace… together. There is no place in the Church (capital C) for leverage, power, or control. There is no place in the church for personality conflicts, character assassinations, or power struggles. There is a fertile bed of poor who want to hear, to know, and to understand more fully Jesus. Let us plant seeds of faith and let God do the rest! Amen.

Pillars of the Church

Posted: 10/16/2009

From the Pastor…        November 2009   God Is Still Speaking   “The Pillars of the Church” by Henry Nouwen taken from his book “Bread for the Journey”   “The two main sacraments, baptism and the Eucharist, are the spiritual pillars of the Church.  They are not simply instruments by which the Church exercises its ministry.  They are not just means by which we become and remain members of the Church but belong to the essence of the Church.  Without these sacraments there is no Church.  The Church is the body of Christ fashioned by baptism and the Eucharist.  When people are baptised in the Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and when they gather around the table of Christ and receive his Body and Blood, they become the people of God, called the Church.”   Our spiritual awareness with each other is found through the covenant of baptism and eucharist.  We covenant to grow, work, and support each other through baptism whether it is the baptism of a newborn or fellow believer.  Through that baptism we are marked by the sacredness of God’s living grace, cleansed of our sins, held blameless until the end of time.  Through the eucharist, the gifts of bread and the cup, our sins are realized, forgiven, and forgotten.  We drink of the cup of new life, eternal life, in Christ jesus who died for our sins and set us free.  Free to choose, to makes choices, to live as brother and sister.  Nowhere in baptism are we called to make judgement on each other nor to judge one another.  Nowhere through the eucharist are we called to judge each other or ourselves.  We are set free in Christ Jesus from our earthly selves and called to be disciples to spread the word to the world.   During the recent  World Communion Snday worship folks were invited to re-visit their baptism in a private moment with the Holy Spirit.  Through the cleansing power of the baptism font and its living waters people were invited to ask for forgiveness, to ask for healing, and allowed to let their hurts and injuries go.  I have heard many comments of how special and meaningful those moments were, each one unique and different for the one speaking.  I was also asked to do it again… soon.   The Church as we know it is changing.  What it will look like tomorrow is anyone’s guess.  What is important is that as its members it is crucial for us to remember and remind each other that the “Church” is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints.”  There is no single member within the community that is more or less than any other.  We do not gather to judge each other nor to be judged.  We gather to celebrate God’s grace in baptism and eucharist.  Perhaps, I should offer the journey to the baptism font and eucharist every worship?  Perhaps that would remind us that we are all children of God regardless of race, creed, or tongue, regardless of political alinement or gender orientation, regardless of lifer or new-comer… we are “ALL” children of god.   There is much ministry to be accomplished within our church.  There is much healing that needs to take place, folks that need to forgive each other, past memories that need to be let go, new ideas that need to be embraced, encouraged, and cherished.  We all enjoy change when it happens to someone else but not within ourselves.  Perhaps we need to focus on changing ourselves so that others will enjoy the change along with us?  This new life is possible through baptism and the eucharist, the pillars of the church, where we are made one, commune as one, and become the one body of Christ, his Church!   See you in worship!  And remember to invite someone you know to join us in worship as well.  Pastor Mark

Spiritual renewal...

Posted: 07/14/2009

It's been ten days since the close of camp. What a marvelous week with old and new friends. The setting is a quiet lake in northern Wisconsin. The place is called Moon Beach Camp, one of two camps belonging to the 'United Church Camps, Inc.', an affiliate of the wisconsin Conference United Church of Christ. This was the fifth year of directing Family Camp for my wife sue and I. Both of us find such a spiritual renewal in planning, executing, and enjoying the week of camp. Our priority is to make every "camper" feel welcome, that they have a place at our table. And throughout the week we mix and match as many families as we can to sit with each other at meal times to get to know one another. We encourage folks to slow down and enjoy the meal as a family... something that many of us don't do because of busy schedules, hectic lives, and convenience. We do all of the normal camp stuff; swimming, boating, hiking, campfires, somores, singing, etc. What sets us aside from other camps is that we gracefully include the message of the gospel through our programs, our fellowship, our activities. All are welcome to participate. All are encouraged to participate. One of the unique things about Family Camp that I enjoy is the individual character and personality of each camp. Each year it is different... made up of the families who come and participate. This year was no exception as the group of folks who gathered had some historical and/or personal connection to Sue and myself. We enjoyed getting re-acquainted with friends from as much as 35 years ago. Suddenly here we all were together sharing stories of life's journeys which had brought us to that moment... that moment called camp! I invite you to check us out in the future. You can find the camp information about the two different camp-sites in wisconsin at www.ucci.org. Peace flows likes a river, life's ebbs and flows bring a newness unlike anything else. Mark

25 years of Ordination!

Posted: 07/07/2009

It is June 7, 2009, but the setting is something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting.  A picturesque little white church, in a sweet little southern Wisconsin town.  The peonies, and the bridal wreath in full bloom as the robins hop around on the perfectly manicured grass outside the church.  The sun streaming through the clouds just after a morning summer shower, and the communion hymn being sung so loudly that even the heavens know it is time to 'come to the table'.  Picturesque for sure. Wonderful!  The word most would use about the scene outside of the First Congregational Church in Genoa City, Wisconsin.  It is a wonderful little church.  But what lies inside is what makes this church a wonderful little church.  The people of First Congregational make it what it is and what it has been for over one hundred years.  I was privileged to be able to spend my second Sunday  worshiping with the people of First Congregational.  It was a special Sunday there, as it was the 25th anniversary in the ministry of their pastor, the Rev. Mark Schowalter.  I was there to be a part of the celebration for this gifted  man. To watch the outpouring of respect and love for Pastor Mark speaks to who First Congregational is, not what it is.  It is not a pristine little white building, it is a mansion of dedication, respect, love, acceptance and encouragement!  I want to thank the people of First Congregational.  They are welcoming, loving and real.  There is so much good that comes from the hearts in that building.  God Bless you all, Annie  (from the fourth row on the right)

Spiritual Loneliness

Posted: 06/30/2009

Two Kinds of Loneliness   In the spiritual life we have to make a distinction between two kinds of loneliness.  In the first loneliness, we are out of touch with God and experience ourselves as anxiously looking for someone or something that can give us a sense of belonging, intimacy, and home.  The second loneliness comes from an intimacy with God that is deeper and greater than our feelings and thoughts can capture.   We might think of these two kinds of loneliness as two forms of blindness.  The first blindness comes from the absence of Light, the second from too much light.   The first Loneliness we must try to outgrow with faith and hope. The second we must be willing to embrace in love.  [Henry Nouwen… “Bread for the Journey”]   I often time oscillate between these two feelings.  There are two kinds of loneliness;”In the first loneliness, we are out of touch with God and experience ourselves as anxiously looking for someone or something that can give us a sense of belonging, intimacy, and home”; while the second loneliness comes from an intimacy with God that is deeper and greater than our feelings and thoughts can capture.”   With so much changing so rapidly these days it is hard to figure out which direction we are going.  Change is not evil.  Change is actually good because as long as we are changing it means that we are alive!  To be alive, especially in the life of the Lord we do often time get blindness by a lack of light to lead us.  There is so much that we want and desire that too many times we find ourselves chasing the wrong things, wrong goals, and wrong ambitions.  The lack of God’s light leading us pushes us away from God into corners we would rather not experience.   On the other side, we also find many times and places in life when we have an “Ah-ha” moment when we are spiritually lifted and perhaps become blind to the real needs of our lives.  We become so absorbed in that special feeling, that specific event that we find it hard to function back in reality, in our normal routines, in those places where we are called to serve.   Finding one’s way is difficult enough without a disability.  Yet perceiving oneself as spiritually whole can lead to those moments when I forget that I am disabled and find myself trapped in a corner with too much light.  “So find the balance?” I tell myself and that is most often where I find God residing in my daily life’s routines.   This meditation by Henry Nouwen opened my spiritual eyes to looking at the many gifts I have and not needing to search for something more, something I don’t have, and something I probably don’t need.  It opens my insight to seeing what is real and necessary in my life as a “one-legged blind guy” who has limitations.  Yet, when I embrace my disabilities I am able to “mount up like on wings of eagles” (Isaiah 40:31) or set myself free from burdens that are not necessary (like worrying about something that I cannot change or do anything about) and I move forward in love.  God’s love!   Have a great day and I hope that these thoughts perhaps help you reflection upon who you are and where you are going…?  Mark

Confessions from an addict

Posted: 01/18/2009

Hi,   My name is Jack. This is my first meeting. Wait, I'm sorry, let me start over. That's not true. Hi,   My name is Jake, and I'm a carpetaholic. I never thought it, and by it, I mean my addiction, would come to this. I've been eating carpet, pretty much my whole life. I never thought it was a big deal. It just seemed like something to do. A little here, a little there, no big deal, but always alone. It made me feel good. For a while. Sure sometimes it made me sick. But I accepted this as part of who I am. Things always seemed to "come out pretty well" anyway, in the past. Well last week things got out of control. I ate too much. I thought I could handle it. But I was wrong. Big time wrong! And I'm only here today because of the skill of my Dr. and the love of my family. Did I forget to mention their money. Yea, that too. So listen up puppies, take it from and old dog with a new look on life. Don't do what I've done. It's not worth it. Three straight days of no food and dry heaving can really take a toll on ones body. And the smell, my God man, the smell. I can't even talk about it anymore. I was that bad. I was so weak at one point that I couldn't even keep from laying in my own vomit. It was then that I had realized where "Rock Bottom" was. I was laying in it! Game over. And let me give you dogs a heads-up about the clinic. If you're sick enough, they will shave you bare in places that you take for granted, during your every day life of licking yourself. Trust me, hair, down there, is vital this time of year. Vital!    So Cali, Megan, Thumper, Lexi, Dazee, Lady, Magi, and Gus, hope to smell you soon. Be good dogs. I've seen your homes. I know there is love all around you. Don't take that for granted. If you have a problem, and I know some of you do, own up to it, and stop it before it stops you. Life is six to seven times too short. Live it wisely. Thanks.   My name is Jake Schowalter, and I'm a carpetaholic. Jake came home Saturday at 11:30. We're glad we still have him with us.                                                                             Love to all, Joel, Jill, Mitch, Kristen, Lily, and of course Jake

A letter to God that I need to forward...

Posted: 12/13/2008

Hi Mark- Neal's teacher called this morning and told me that Neal was not doing well in class- very nervous about going to Children's Hospital.  Then he told her he knew he would be OK though because he wrote an email to God- I found it in my Drafts folder,  unsent of course-- This is a terrific depiction of who my boy is.  He is 10, he is amazing and has the biggest, fullest heart of anyone I know!      - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hi God it is me Neal. We start all our prayers that way so I thought i should start my letter that way too.  I am writing to you but i probably don't even hafe to .  Mom says that you are all around us in every person and in everything, so that means that You can see me write this.  That is good because i don't know your email address. I am writing to ask a favor but i feel very selfish about it.  See but we pray every night for people and you answer all of our prayers.  You help but  you don't always seem get it the way we want it, but you do always make thing s work out somehow.  So i want to ask you for a prayer,but it is for me is that ok to do?  God, I have a problem with my throat, it hurts and it makes it hard to breathe.  the problem is that i don't always tell my mom and dad the truth about how much it hurts.  i get scared a lot, but my mom can tell when I am.    Here is my prayer, my prayer is that Pastor Chuck says a prayer for me at church on Sunday.  In church I always hear him say ""and we pray for so and so who was a recent pachent at Bellin hospital having a...hip raplacement".  And all of the people in our church hear it and they go and pray for the sick person.  I want him to say a prayer for me like that at church, is that bad? but i can't ask him it is to selfish of a thing to ask.    It would be terrible if he saw this letter to you or if I asked him to do it, too selfish. So you just need to whisper in his ear.  He will listen.  I know us praying helps those other people.  See when we pray at home for others we also send cards and pictures  to them and they are always sending us thank you cards back, so i know it helps them, because they say it does in there letter.  It helped me, Mr Tucker sent me a card and it made me feel so good and like everything would be OK. I will not be in church on Sunday. But God can you just tell Pastor Chuck to say a prayer for me?  I need him to just somehow know that I want a prayer for me on Sunday because I am a little sick, and it all hurts more than I say and that sometimes I lie about it so people don't have to worry.  I know there are lots of people sicker and who need prayers like I do or even more than I do, So I will keep praying for them to.  but God loves me too and mom says i have something special to offer the world and that she can't wait to watch me grow.  I know i will be OK. thanks for reading this when I wrote it, now I don't have to send it and  now you can decide what to do. thank you God I love you to Neal PS- Mom came home from church just now.  She said Pastor Chuck mentioned me in his prayers and that she felt kinda warm after she heard him say my name.  Thanks you god.  Good job god.  is your name capitaled  I bet it is.  So, good job God, I hear my parents say  good job when I do somthing good so i thought  you should too. thank you from Neal

Disabled and/or Handicapped?

Posted: 11/17/2008

Creating disabled and handicapped people?   Who or what is a “disabled” person?  Does a one-legged blind guy who is a chronic diabetic which has resulted in 5 bypasses a qualified “disabled” person?  Not so according to the Social Security standards simply because I can and do work at my job and career more than 10 hours a week.  So it isn’t a far left-handed move for me to wonder and ponder this question when my wife and I see many folks use a “handicap” ticket to park close to the door of a local shopping store, run in to and out of the store, and obviously display that they are not disabled and/or handicapped?  And that is only one issue involved with the question and discernment of who is disabled and/or what is a handicapped person.   I define disabled as something I cannot do.  I define handicapped as something I “don’t” want to do.  I think there is a big difference.  Now let me push that definition a little farther.  If being disabled is something that I “cannot” do because of physical limitations, etc. then whose responsibility does it become to provide and take care of me?  Because I am disabled due to my diabetes, blindness, amputation, heart bypasses should I expect society to take care of me?  Am I supposed to blame society for my unfortunate luck in life?  Is there substantial grounds for me to expect that now, since I am unable to see, walk without a prosthetic, etc. that I should quit and expect that others will take care of me, support me, and make sure that I am guaranteed the same standards of and/or quality of life that a person who is not disabled and/or handicapped?  I think not!   Allow me to place my disclaimer here at this point… I do know and understand that there are people who suffer tragic adversities in their life of which they have no control and must be attended to because of their needs.  They have always been there and they are our responsibilities to care for and see that they can have a reasonable quality and/or standard of life.   I am concerned that we as a society no longer teach our children how to be responsible for them.  We also teach them that the lowest possible common denominator is and will always become the standard by which we will judge our quality of life.  Society is not rapidly pushing teachers and those who work with children to a place where they cannot criticize, they cannot correct, nor can they challenge children to better themselves by working hard, practicing to perfection, and then learning to adjust to the adverse events that do and will happen.  We have already taught them to be “handicapped”.   It frustrates me when I learn of fully capable people mis-using the systems we have in place to make others responsible for their actions and in some cases the unfortunate tragic adversities that happen.  When I went blind I did not blame others for my poor choice of diabetic mis-management which caused the retinopathy.  Nor did I blame or seek to place responsibility for my cardio-vascular issues and leg amputation on things like certain chemicals used for preparation and preservation in food sources.  I realized and understood that my illnesses and consequential issues were things that happened to me and that I, personally, would need to deal with them.  I could not nor would not expect society to take care of me.   If and when we teach children that competition is an evil thing: that a child is not suppose to cry, or feel left out; that everyone is suppose to feel good all the time; when we lower the standards of accomplishment so that the poorest worker in the group gets the same acclaim for a task as the one with energy; we have taught them to be disabled and handicapped.  Society has taught children by the many role models of people who refused to work, who feel that they deserved to be taken care of by society, that society owes them something because life hasn’t gone exactly as they had thought it would… then we have created disabled and handicapped people.  When we demonstrate to our children that we no longer have to worry about any choice, any decision right or wrong, whether we make good or bad decisions; someone else is responsible and someone else will have to pay and someone else will take care of you.   As a disabled person working full time in society I constantly find that it is my responsibility to continue working to raise myself up to the standards of society rather than expecting society to reduce itself to the lowest possible common denominator.  It was not society’s fault that I am who I am… it is totally mine!  It is my choice to work to improve myself, to better my skills, and to help others realize that the potential of what I accomplish lies within me and is not an expectation that someone is going to give to me.  I may be disabled… but I am fully handy-capable!   Think about this and have a great day… especially the next time you see someone park in a “handicapped” spot and go running in to and out of the store?