Young men and women alike, old and young together! Let them praise the name of the Lord! — Psalm 148:12
It took the medical community a while to decide, but when the verdict came down, Zachary Smith was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at age 6. The rare condition has left him unable to walk without a walker or crutches and he is most often seen easily moving about in a wheelchair. At 25 now, he is a pastoral intern with four others this year at St. Paul Catholic Church.
There have been times in his life when he has questioned God and asked the proverbial question, “Why?” But when he met other people who were struggling with disabilities, he realized, in his words, “I am not alone.” And, “There is a purpose for me and my life.” While attending a Catholic high school, he learned to serve in a day care center, an animal shelter and a home for senior adults. In college at Indiana University-Purdue University in Indianapolis, he encountered a non-Catholic campus religious group, Chi Alpha, that strengthened and encouraged his spiritual life.
Smith’s goal is “to help as many people as best I can for as long as I can.” He presently serves graduate students and young adults at the Newman Center. In doing so, he hopes to grow closer to God and help others do the same. He wouldn’t wish his physical challenges on others, but knows that he has grown as a result of them. Smith has learned to “give thanks in all circumstances,” as St. Paul admonished in I Thessalonians 5:18. In so doing, he brings joy to others, and encourages all around him to be content where they are.
Though they’ve never met, Lamar Peterson of Bedford has experienced the same kind of serenity in spite of personal losses as he grew older. He lost a grandson who was 41 just this fall, and his wife, Eleanor Fell, several years ago. In coping with those deaths, he affirms that “Loss is part of the journey of life, and we have to accept life’s limitations.”
Though a staunch Methodist, he shows a Calvinist slant when he describes meeting Eleanor — “it was providential!” He had learned to build harps after a career in industry in Texas, and she was an accomplished harpist living in Bloomington. It was not just a chance meeting — they married and were together for almost four years before she succumbed to lymphoma.
Like Smith’s encounter with the Pentecostal college group, Peterson’s with his wife’s Jewish faith was enriching and enlightening. A widower at the time, Peterson’s interest in harps helped bring them together — along with their need for each other. They found happiness and deep contentment, while continuing to share interest in harp-building and performance. Fell performed in many Christian churches, and Peterson learned the beauty of Judaism, from which his Christian faith originated.
When his grandson died in his prime years after surviving a childhood accident that almost took his life, Peterson said, “Be thankful for the time you had your loved ones, whether long or short.”
In this extended season of losses — COVID deaths, missed family gatherings, work changes and the like, Smith and Peterson teach us the way of serenity and acceptance. They’ve learned that in all circumstances we can learn and grow to be better, serving persons.
Peterson loves the words of this folk melody, a favorite of Swedes:
“Children of the heavenly Father safely in his bosom gather; Unto them His grace he showeth, and their sorrows all he knoweth. Though he giveth or he taketh, God his children ne’er forsaketh …“ — Lina Sandell
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