The Disabled are Ugly Ducklings becoming swans

We have all heard the story about the ugly duckling, made fun of by its peers because it is different. The ugly duckling goes away, saddened, but returns a beautiful swan after the winter has melted away. Like the duckling peers, we don’t/fail to recognize the ugly ducklings in our society.

The disabled are like ugly ducklings just waiting to become beautiful swans. They seem so different, so we shun them and consider them “different.” However unusual the differently able may be, they are truly beautiful inside. If we just take the time to see this, it will become evident that no matter what they look like on the outside and no matter how “retarded” you may think they are, they embody the true definition of beauty. They are the swans in the world.
I once heard a story about a disabled person that truly touched my heart. One girl was counseling for a camp for the disabled. She was with her guest at Pine Crest Lake when a boy came up to her and started hitting on her. He said, “Why hang out with that retard when I am here.” She merely turned toward her guest, gave her a big hug, and walked away.

I, myself, counseled at Christian Berets Camp for the Disabled over the summer of 2005. It was a life-changing experience. I got to know my guests. They have feelings. They have emotions. They may not be as smart as you and I, but they see things in ways most “normal people” never could. Everything can be seen in a good way in their eyes. They are optimistic. Yes, not all of them are this way, but they are still unique. God made each person uniquely, each with a purpose in life. We are all precious in his eyes.

Moses, in the Bible, had a speaking disability. Then, in Exodus 4, God called him to his destiny, to be the deliverer of the Jews enslaved in Egypt. In verses 11-12, the Lord says to him, "Who gave man his mouth? Who makes him deaf or mute? Who gives him sight or makes him blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say." God makes us who we are; we should not make fun of people for the way God made them. If God sees us as beautiful swans no matter what, we should see each other as beautiful swans no matter what.

From the most complicated diseases and disabilities, such as cancers and Down syndrome, to the simplest, such as a broken foot, disabilities are evident. I met several guests over my summer at Christian Berets who go to college or work within the community out in the open. Many disabled people are doing things that every–day, average Joes do.

In Frankenstein, Victor’s creation has feelings and just wants someone to accept him so that he can have happiness. Instead, the rejection because of his ugly looks and disfiguration crushes him. In real life, John Merrick had a disease that caused him to grow abnormally in areas such as his face and arms. He was a sideshow freak for years before he found contentment living in a hospital where a doctor took care of him. Frankenstein’s creature and Merrick epitomize/exemplify the ugly duckling in today’s society. The disabled have feelings and emotions, see things in wonderful ways, are capable of everyday actions most of the time, are more like us than we think, and are equally loved by God as we are. Thus, these people, whom many unjustly call “retards,” are truly ugly ducklings just waiting to grow into beautiful swans.