"2 BY 2"

No sooner had I posted the article on Bittersweet Farms in Ohio than I received this one about the L'Arche community in Tacoma, Washington. Residents maintain a farm, create and sell products at local farmer's markets, and engage in meaningful relationships. They are a family group committed to a simple life and conscious of spirituality. Why does this ring a bell? After a bit of research and head tapping, I remembered. L'Arche is the place that inspired several of Henri Nouwen's books (one of which I read years ago before my interest in autism). He is one of the fathers of contemplative spirituality. While living with people with developmental disabilities, Nouwen's understanding of service, relationship, connectedness, faith and Christ-likeness was redefined. He writes about how he benefited from their presence.

L'Arche is an international network of 133 communities founded by Jean Vanier in France in 1964. The journal of Nouwen's year at L’Arche Trosly is captured in The Road to Daybreak: A Spiritual Journey. Another book, Adam, God's Beloved, is an inspiring account of how his life was transformed through friendship with a core member of the L'Arche Daybreak community in Toronto. I love the empowerment and inclusion that is integral to their philosophy; they are intentional about creating mutually beneficial relationship and developing the unique gifts of each individual. Amen to that! The L'Arche story is told in depth in this excellent 14 minute interview.

L'Arche means "the ark" in French. My license plates have read "2 BY 2" since my kids were a year old. The selection of these vanity plates is a triple entendre. I'm not sure the average passerby gets any of the three references. More than once, men have chuckled and commented on my plates thinking I am making an anti-4-wheeler statement, as if to say, "Awww that's cute...she only has 2-wheel drive." Little do they know, it referred to the lovely picture book we read every night at bedtime, Twins: Two by Two by Catherine and Laurence Anholt. Their whimsical illustrations of boy and girl twins (like ours) show them role playing various species: crocodiles splashing in the bathroom, kangaroos jumping into bed, and mice all curled up asleep. Memories...!

The 2 BY 2 plates were also a more overt reference to Noah's ark in celebration of our babies arriving as a pair. Our vehicle was decked with double car seats and life felt suddenly like an epic adventure. As it was for those boarding Noah's ark, we distinctly felt that God was intervening in Allie and Reid's lives. He was lifting them, as it were, through adoption, from one setting to quite another for reasons they could not understand.

Thirdly, 2 BY 2 is a Biblical reference to the way Jesus sent out his disciples. Never alone, always in pairs, they were sent to spread the good news. It continues to comfort me to know we are not alone either in whatever task he calls us to do.

So, the L'Arche concept resonates on many levels. Is there one near you? Has anyone had personal experience with L'Arche?


"After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and send them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." Luke 10:1-3


"...they went into the ark to Noah by twos, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. Genesis 7:8-10


"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." Matthew 5:4-6

photo credit: www.larche.org; www.anholt.co.uk

Flight Training

DoC, Dad of Cameron shares this video as another metaphor for the experience of parenting and living with autism. It can feel all at once, nearly impossible and incredibly rewarding--like landing a 747. The plane metaphor reminds me of a story my friend, Barbara Klett, shared with a group of us praying last April for ASD Pray and Fast Day. She wrote:

In his book, Christ for Real, Charles Price describes three people sitting beside one another on an airplane. One is an experienced business traveler, one a first-time flier who is pretty excited to be flying, and one a first-time flier who is motivated to get on the plane only because the plane will take her to see her grandchildren for the first time.

The experienced traveler takes the journey in comfort, reading his book, napping, and casually eating the meal. He exits the plane relaxed, refreshed, and confident. He had watermelon sized faith in that plane.

The first-time, excited flier is a bit nervous, feels every bump, is aware of every odd sound. He exits the plane a bit tired, but fine. He had peach-sized faith in that plane.

The grand mum is completely uncomfortable through the entire trip, holds on to the chair’s arm rests with white knuckles, tries to eat the meal but ends up losing that. She exits the plane exhausted and worn out. She had mustard-seed-sized faith in that plane.

No matter the size of their faith, they all arrived at their destination at the same time. It wasn’t that the watermelon-sized faith guy landed 2-hours ahead of the mustard-seed-sized faith lady. They only needed enough faith to get on the plane. The plane took care of the journey.

God is taking care of our journey. Our level of faith in God is merely a measurement of our exhaustion level as we struggle through, or our refreshment level as we rest in Him. The comfort of the journey is up to our interpretation. It matters not the level of OUR faith; it matters in Whom we place our faith.

So, are you enjoying the ride? Trusting the pilot takes a lot of pressure off.


Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. They are brought to their knees and fall, but we rise up and stand firm. Psalm 20:7-8

Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left. Isaiah 30:20-22

He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. Matthew 17:19-21

Must History Repeat Itself?

Out From Under: Disability, History and Things to Remember is the title of an exhibition at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto through July 13, 2008. It promises to be a powerful display chronicling the history of disability through personal narratives drawn from 13 diverse objects including a braille watch, a ventilator, and a death certificate. Podcasts are available online in lieu of traveling to Toronto. Out From Under was produced in collaboration with students, scholars and alumni from Ryerson University.

Audrey King who donated the ventilator bed on display recalls, "Only years later, did I realize ... the embarrassment was not the assistive device, which in reality liberates ... It was – and still is – the bureaucracies and support system inadequacies that confine people and rob them of freedom and choice." Isn't that what Ari Ne'eman was saying on Good Morning America yesterday?

It is the same sentiment that inspired my friend, Diana Pastora Carson, to found Ability Awareness. Hear the hopefully familiar ring in her words about her brother, Joaquin. "The experience of being disabled by his environment more than his autism continues to inspire me" to give workshops that educate and change public perception. She spoke to kids and leaders last summer at SportsJam at our church as we learned from guest speakers with various special needs. We raised the kids' awareness and the kids raised money to purchase beach wheelchairs like the one pictured above for our local lifeguard stations. Diana is another example of how siblings rock the world! She is one of the speakers preparing for University of San Diego's Summer Autism Institute "Autism: Work With Me, Not On Me" coming up June 23 - 25, 2008.

Understanding history will spare us repeating it. The acceptance movement is not one voice in the wilderness. It is not even that new. But its time has come.


But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings. Hebrews 10:31-33


He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Isaiah 53:2-4


These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again. I know your afflictions and your poverty—yet you are rich! Revelations 2:8-9

photo credits: phmovement.org; goflorida.about.com