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Imagine performing all day-to-day tasks only with the help of the feet. This is the routine of the North American pastor Daniel Ritchie, who was born without arms due to a bad genetic formation.
In childhood, Daniel did not know how to deal with unpleasant comments about his disability. ‘Being different from everyone else was a terrible burden. I did not believe that my life was precious, remarkable or sacred. ‘I felt useless and broken,’ he told the Desiring God site.
‘Never’ is a word I’ve heard a lot in my life. Because I was born without any of my arms, I spent the first years of my life being informed of all the things I would never be able to do, ‘Daniel says.
He went on to find his true value and purpose of life in adolescence, when he had a special encounter with Christ. ‘God rescued me and redeemed me at 15 years of age, and little by little began to show me how my life is precious, despite my deficiency,’ he says.
Today Daniel is taking advantage of his life to the fullest exercising diverse roles as pastor, writer, lecturer, driver, husband and father. His tender story is told in the book ‘My affliction for his glory,’ in free translation.
One of his missions is to highlight the value of life and encourage people not to see abortion as a solution. ‘Blindness, deafness, amputation and mental deficiency do not harm the value of any person. The church must be faithful to proclaim and defend that every unborn child, regardless of their disability, has the right to life. Every fetus can manifest the works of God, ‘he observes.
It also encourages churches to provide space for disabled people to get involved in activities. ‘How many people in our churches do we put aside because they are paralyzed, blind or autistic?’, He asks.
‘If they have the God-given value, we will do whatever it takes to find ways to serve them in the church and give opportunities to serve as a church. They are called to go and make disciples like any physically capable person, ‘he adds.
