For a while now, my dad, (Bob West, founder of Need Project Inc.,) has suggested that I launch a blog on his website. He knows me too well. I probably enjoy any opportunity to offer my opinion a little too much, (ok, way too much.) Dad felt, however, that as a young man living with my own disabilities, I might have some unique perspectives to offer to those who need encouragement.

So, I’ve given in, and will be updating this new blog as time permits with some of my thoughts on disability, faith, and just surviving the crazy ups and downs of life as a family and as a young man. I hope that I can offer a take on some things you may not have considered before; most of all, I hope I can convince you that, although living with a disability, either as an individual or as a family member, is full of challenges, God, in his grace, suffuses every circumstance with hope. Sometimes, we just need someone to come along side us, to help us discover where His plan is pointing. At times, those with a disability find themselves wondering, “How can God use me, in the midst of my circumstance?” Understandably, their loved ones also wonder “What can God make of a circumstance like ours?” Often, things seem aimless, without a light at the end of the tunnel. But, (praise God), as one of my heroes Rev. David Ring likes to say, “God never says oops.” He still keeps his hand on his children, in every circumstance we can imagine.

As a young man with a disability, I have been blessed to see God work in my life in ways I never could have imagined. Ironically, and beautifully, many of those things could never have come about if I had not been exactly who I am, disability and all. For example, I get the chance to write this blog, encouraging others who face challenges like mine. God’s plan for every person is unique. Your loved one with a disability will touch the lives around them in their own way. But everyone, no matter what their disability, has something to offer. I hope I can help you to see that, from a point of view you may not have had before.