"I can't walk; I can't sit up straight; I can't feed myself. If you and I meet, the first thing you notice will be my body crumpled in a wheelchair. Once I could at least sit up, but now my weak neck is bent over and my spine bent so much that my head falls heavily upon my left shoulder and my hunched back."
So writes Christina Chase, the twenty-first century Therese of Lisieux whose "littleness" is humbler even than that of the Little Flower, but whose spiritual power is, by every discernible measure, of comparable intensity. Crippled though she is, Christina's fearful disabilities have led her not into anger, bitterness, or despair, but rather into a profound and exceptional encounter with God's love itself"¬?¬"an encounter that you, too, can experience through the gentle allure of Christina's witness.
Locked now for decades within her own fragile, helpless body, Christina has been graced with extraordinary insights into the similar helplessness of Jesus, the majestic King of the Universe, who, when born of the Virgin Mary, became just like Christina today"¬?¬"unable to feed Himself or even lift His head. From that littleness "¬?¬" hers and His "¬?¬" Christina here draws forth a marvelous wisdom that shows that as creatures, we are all, in one sense or another, paralyzed.
None of us can exist apart from limitations and boundaries.
None of us can walk through this life unaided.
In the presence of God, not a single one of us can even stand.
But no matter! For out of infinite love for us and to save us, Jesus chose to join us in our littleness, exposing Himself to the limitations of time and space and circumstance, even unto His death on the Cross. The sweet sufferer Christina has assimilated this saving truth, which shines forth from these consoling pages for all of humanity to feel.
Read these pages by wheelchair-bound Christina to discover how much Jesus loves you, no matter how little and crippled you are, spiritually or otherwise.
Part memoir, part meditation, Christina's reflections on the great mystery at the heart of the Christian Faith -- the Incarnation of Christ -- highlight the greatness of God's love and the smallness of our human existence.
