Raising Awareness

The month of May is Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS) Awareness Month.  This year, Congress named May 15th as PWS Day.  This month I have seen so many people sharing facts about PWS, sharing their personal story, or their family’s story, and generally seeking to fill their social media accounts with information about PWS.   Those in this community continue to fight for national recognition of this syndrome to open access to more therapy and treatment options.  I know firsthand that this battle for children with PWS is long and hard.  We are only five months in, and there are days that I am just tired.  It is hard to read about children dying young from obesity or obesity-related illnesses due to PWS.  It is hard to look at statistics and be optimistic about your child’s future.  It is hard to follow all of the current research and stay up to date with current treatments and best practices.  It is hard to watch your baby go through surgery.  It is hard to give injections every night.  It is hard to counter or question doctors about their course of action.  It is hard to tell doctors no or to advocate for a course of action that doctors disagree with or think is unnecessary.  It is hard to change not only your own dietary habits but also those of the whole family.  Watching the Prader-Willi Association and other groups campaign for more recognition, provide resources for more informed doctors, seek more treatment options, and spread awareness, I noticed that I don’t necessarily see that same enthusiasm from the Church.  If anyone has awareness worth spreading, it’s the Church!  

Before Jesus went back to heaven, He gave a charge to His followers, “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18-20)  We have been charged with spreading awareness of the most important kind.  This is about more than the health of certain people groups, research, or anything in this world; eternal souls are at stake!  Not only are people in need of knowing the truth, but we have been commanded to share it by our Creator, Sustainer, Savior, and King!  This is no time to relax or become complacent.  No one is guaranteed tomorrow; we need to tell them before it is too late.

Your primary mission field is the one closest to you, your home.  We are called to be a witness to our family.  Parents are to raise children who know and love the Lord.  Deuteronomy 6:5-9 tells us, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”  These instructions start with you loving God with your whole being.  Part of that love for God drives our own study of His Word.  As we study God’s Word and keep it in our hearts, it should flow out in our daily lives.  This means that teaching our children should be a natural part of our day.  We can talk to our children about the Lord as we go about our daily activities.  Yes, formal family worship each day can be a great way to share the truths of God’s Word with our children.  During our family worship times, we include singing a hymn or Psalm, catechism, and instruction in The Word.  However, that is not the only time we can share God’s Word with our children.  My three-year-old is in the questioning phase of life.  Everything prompts a question of where did it come from, how does it work, or who made it.  These questions allow me to teach him that God made the plants and causes them to grow.  While we will get into more scientific explanations of plant life and reproduction as he grows older, right now we are starting with the basics; God made it.  He is learning that he was made by God.  As our teenager ventures out into the world and encounters various philosophies and positions, she is not only backed by parents who will have open conversations with her, but also with knowledge gained throughout her life about God’s Word.  The Holy Spirit also gives her wisdom and recalls to mind the things she has been taught.  While the Holy Spirit can equip anyone to face the circumstances in which they find themselves, there is much more to be called to mind if they have a lifetime of filling their mind with God’s Word.  I know this has been such a blessing to me in my life.  Through various trials, verses and songs have been brought to mind to remind me of God’s sovereign control and love for me.  It is never too early to start teaching your children.  Throughout their life, as long as God gives them to you, train them, teach them, guide them, and provide a godly example of living faith.   

While our home is our primary focus, it is not our only one.  We have been taught so that we may teach others also.  Older women are called upon to teach younger women.  You are only able to teach that which you already know.  Therefore, it is important to continue learning and growing so that you will be able to pass what you have learned on to those who come behind you.  Often, this training takes place in the church.  Older women come along and disciple younger women, sharing in their joys and struggles of this life.  This discipleship is a crucial part of our walk with the Lord.  Just as children need to be raised up, so those who are new to the faith need to be instructed in The Word.  When you first approach the Bible, it may seem a bit overwhelming.  Where to start?  How to understand?  What books are what types of literature?  What was the historical context in which the book was written?  How does that truth look lived in everyday life today?  Having a mature Christian come alongside you can be a huge help.  Practical advice based on Scripture can help a new wife or mother enjoy the role God has given her in her home.  This is one aspect of Christian life that should be consistent and yet ever-changing.  We should consistently have someone older from whom we are learning as well as someone younger that we are teaching.  However, these people may change as time goes on.  A godly mentor may be called home, requiring you to look for another mentor.  A young woman you are teaching may move away, requiring you to find another person to teach.  Each of you may branch out to include more people you are teaching or from whom you are learning.  This discipleship is not static or a prescribed curriculum.  It is a life lived together as we learn from each other.  It can be messy at times.  It can be hard, being so close to someone.  We will share in the joys, sorrows, discouragements, and celebrations of one another.  This is a life lived for the glory of God, and not for ourselves.  

Our family and church are not the only ones we should tell.  We must look outside our comfort zone.  Some are called to foreign lands; some are called to the lady next door.  Regardless of where God puts us, we are to always be looking for ways to talk about the Lord and to share the Gospel with others.  There is a world full of people who don’t know the truth of their condition.  They do not know that they are enemies of God.  We must tell people of a righteous and holy God who cannot be in the presence of sin.  We must tell them of a fallen humanity who chose to follow their own desires rather than the commands of God - putting us at enmity with God.  People need to know that there is nothing they can do to earn salvation or satisfy the just demands of God’s law.  The result of sin is eternal punishment under the wrath of God.  They must also know that God, being rich in mercy, sent His Son, Jesus, to live a perfect, sinless life, and die, taking the full weight of God’s wrath.  There is righteousness, life, and peace with God through the blood of Jesus Christ.  We do not have to remain enemies of God.  This is news that the whole world needs to know.  This is the most important message that we could ever share.  We must be constantly praying for and seizing opportunities to share the truth with others.  We must be bold in countering the philosophies of this world and living differently from others.  This is the awareness that we need to bring to others.