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How a Little Old Lady changed my life

This article appeared in the Power for Living devotional published by David C.Cook Publishing in 2015. I was blessed to be Mary Jane’s friend for another 7 years before she went to be with the Lord. During this time we emailed, talked, traveled and worked together bringing her writings, bible studies and biographies into the 21st century. What fun we had sitting for hours at her kitchen table creating games and puzzles for her writings. It was one of my best life experiences and I miss her everyday. Originally titled:


We Have a Little Sister

When you first meet Mary Jane Ponten, (pronounce pon-tain) you are struck by her smile, a huge unashamed smile that cuts across an aged face, her eyes are bright, even though one is looking one way and the other is looking the other. Talk about  “don’t judge a book by it’s cover”, MJ wrote that one. Now 81, her life has been a testimony of facing giants, slaying dragons and daily battling demons. What she has overcome in her lifetime is testimony to the extravagant strength God places inside of one tiny person who was dealt a hand of cards most would be overcome by.


Mary Jane wasn’t overcome by her disability she overcame it. She wagged her finger in its face and told it exactly what it could do. Consequently she has been everything any “normal” person could be and much more. Mary Jane leads a crusade to dignify all those who are disabled. Whether in local schools, churches or conferences halfway across the world, she is there with her message. Her life best exemplifies her message, so she must go and be herself. Mary Jane made a decision to change the way people view those who are disabled and to even change the way most disabled view themselves.

What Mary Jane knows, is that nothing can steel the spirit of God within a human being, not even a harsh disability like CP. She knows deeply that each and every beautiful or broken body on earth is just as valuable to our loving God. If you were to see Mary Jane walking the isles of a grocery store today, (tiny gray haired woman with spinal stenosis, arthritis, osteoporosis and cerebral palsy), you would be sympathetic, how difficult a trip to the store must be. HA! This is where you are wrong. She knows every one, and everyone knows her. She has her grocery list, calculating the bargains thoroughly, always on the lookout for a mom with a disabled child or an old person on oxygen to smile at and say something friendly to.

This woman loves life to pieces. Her ability to correctly judge others comes from having been judged wrongly for over 81 years. She has cerebral palsy in her physical body, but her mind is one of the sharpest I know. Computer savvy, quick witted, she reads the Bible through several times a year. The value God places on each human life is embodied within her. With faith in a loving God, she decided being disabled was not an excuse to be bitter, helpless or self absorbed. She takes life by its bootstraps, straightens it up, cleans it up and presents herself as incredibly valuable to the world. Now a dear friend, my husband and I call her “mom”, she is proud of all her “kids”, even us. My husband has traveled with her on several occasions to South America with the Joni and Friends Wheels for the World teams. He claims she is the best traveler EVER. We laugh and cry together. While visiting the topic of family names came up. I mentioned my middle name was my mom’s name.

Mary Jane said, “I have the name nobody wanted”. I asked what she meant. She replied, “when I was born, I was not suppose to live, the doctor advised my parents not to waste a good family name on a dying baby, and now I am 81!” We both laughed and cried about the irony. Mary Jane writes in her book “When Today Becomes Tomorrow”, a story I will share, to give you a glimpse of her personality and ability to laugh at herself. Mary Jane beat cancer twice! Not surprising to me, once cancer got the boot from her, it had to go. However it did take both of her breasts. The second surgery was as she calls it, “the big one.” When Mary Jane was coming out of recovery in her hospital room, her family, friends, a Pastor friend and his wife were waiting. Not knowing how MJ was really feeling about this monumental surgery, they awaited her awakening. One eye opened and then another, relief flooded the room. What would she say? Mary Jane asked in a breathless voice if her pastor had a Bible with him, the King James Version. He did have one; he asked her what she wanted him to read. Soberly the rough gasps she asked that he turn to the last chapter of Song of Solomon.

She then asked him to find the verse that starts with, We have a little sister…” “Yes, I have it right here,” he said in the most sympathetic spiritual voice he could muster. “We have a little sister and she has no breasts.” Mary Jane writes. “After a few moments of total silence the room broke into absolute hysterics.” The nurse was afraid she had passed and they were all crying bitter tears. When she came in and realized they were laughing, she asked why. Once told she grabbed the Bible and went from nursing station to nursing station, laughter erupted throughout the hospital for hours. At twelve years old, she felt called to be a missionary. She stood up proudly at a Youth for Christ rally, knowing she was to become a missionary to China. At the time it didn’t occur to her no reputable mission agency would send out a person with such a disability as hers. This awareness came to her in college. Although she didn’t question her calling, she placed it in the heart of a loving God… for 52 years. As years went by, she was employed for years, she married, raised two children, served in her church and the community with her dear husband Bud. When Bud passed away in 1990, she became a disabled widow, but she didn’t wallow in her circumstances. Within two years she launched a ministry bringing dignity to the disabled everywhere. With the passion of a lioness she fiercely fights to change how others view and treat people with disabilities. The ministry is called “Mephibosheth Ministry”. It comes from Second Samuel 9 where King David fulfills his promise to his best friend Jonathan. David promised to take care of Jonathan’s relatives after Jonathan’s death. But the only relative found was a young man named Mephibosheth who was a cripple. Did this matter to David? No, David lavished Mephibosheth with  every privilege of his own sons. He asked that Mephibosheth   always eat at the king’s table and be cared for his entire life. The implication of this is so profound; those who are weaker ought not only be treated as equals, but also treated better! This is how God thinks don’t you just love it? Unfortunately this is not how much of the world thinks, there are many who believe those with disabilities like CP ought not even live, let alone flourish in life. But Mary Jane knows the heart of God, she knows different. How does a person with such a disability grab life and tell it what to do? (According to God’s will of course). How does a person who has been shunned, who has been minimized as a burden, even not expected to live, how does this person persevere, laugh and even trust God who could have made every thing so different for her if He had chosen to. How is this possible? This little woman who can barely speak clearly, has stood before church leaders throughout the world and told them they have been wrong, (with a twinkle in her eye and a huge smile). Wrong about disabled people and how to serve them. How disabled people can and must serve the church. This is a huge missing piece in the Church today.

How does one take life’s pain and turn it around to joy? Yes, joy; Mary Jane lives a life of joy. It’s not fake, it comes bubbling up from those deep streams of living water the Lord speaks of in John 3:38. It is real, coming from a decision she made to allow God to be glorified through her life. Remember this is the same God who allowed cerebral palsy into her life. This is also the God who answered her prayers to ride a bike, graduate from college, marry, have kids and grand kids, become a missionary to China, Africa, South America, Eastern Europe, and to write curriculum for special needs kids and adults. Mary Jane’s mission to dignify all disabled has changed so many lives. It’s miraculous to me. The miracle didn’t come in her “healing”, although healing was desired and prayed for. Rather it came through how she lives, in fully trusting God. After all when you know how deeply God loves you, how vast heaven is and how long we will live in His presence, these earthly trials are put into perspective. In fact we can laugh at being human, we can enjoy being flawed and struggling in these bodies that are thankfully not our final home. 
By Carol Hope Brown
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Living with Cerebral Palsy

When she was born there was speculation that something was not quite right. A blood test was taken and after several days the results were in. Having just returned from the doctor’s office, my parents called a family meeting and shared with us that our baby sister had just been diagnosed with a rare form of Down syndrome. There would be many unknowns ahead for our family.


She was 8 days old and I was 16. I knew very little about Down syndrome, but the hard realities of living life amidst the challenges of a disability were all too familiar to me. When I heard the news my heart shattered like hand-blown glass that had been dropped and splintered into a thousand tiny fragments. Shocked and grief-stricken, I locked myself in a room, found a well-worn spiral notebook and a pen, and began composing a demanding letter to God. I told him that he had made a mistake, and he had no choice but to fix it! My sister was NOT supposed to be born with a disability! I could not imagine her having to endure similar hardships to what I had experienced.


I believe wholeheartedly that God is a God of miracles, and nothing is too hard for Him. So, healing Down syndrome would be no problem, and by performing such a miracle God would certainly be glorified. Time passed, and the miracle I prayed for did not happen. Instead, for more than 20 years now, I have had the privilege to experiencing the miracles of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, forgiveness, gentleness, and simplicity in their purest, most beautiful forms, through the life of my younger sister, who happens to have a tiny piece of extra material in her genetic makeup.


Looking back over these years, I can see God in His loving kindness calmly listening to me rant, identifying with my grief, and staying true to His word that all things work together for the good of those who love him, and for His glory. (Romans 8:28) I’m so thankful God did not answer my prayer the way I hoped He would at the time. My sister having Down syndrome was not a mistake. She is an image bearer of God, fearfully and wonderfully made. Having Down syndrome is a means by which God’s character and glory are put clearly on display. How blessed am I that I’ve been able to experience it up close and personal!


If today finds you face to face with a weighty unknown, walking through circumstances that feel too hard to bear, or just weary on the journey of life, let me encourage you to honestly pour your heart out before the Lord. Know that you are seen, fully known, and completely loved by God right where you are. He invites you to share your heartache and burdens with Him, and exchange them for rest. (Matthew 11:28)


Lean into the community that God has placed around you. Friends, family, Church members, professionals, and those who have walked a similar journey, are there to help. We’re not meant to walk through life alone, but to bear one another’s burdens. (Galatians 6:2)

Lift up your eyes. The Lord has promised to be your help and the lifter of your head. (Psalm 121, Psalm 3:3)


Look for miracles in the everyday moments and the hard circumstances of life. It’s easy for us to look at miracles from a macro view, and become discouraged or disillusioned when we don’t receive that miracle we prayed for, but zoom in on the details of your life and you might be surprised by the miracles you discover. I believe it is just as much of a miracle for God to give us the grace and strength to endure in difficulty, as it is for Him to remove the trial from us. It is miraculous how God uses hard circumstances to sanctify, shape, and bless us. Record your miracles in a journal or voice memo as a way to be able to look back and recount the good and faithful deeds of the Lord. If you ask God to open your eyes to the miracles all around you I assure you you will not be disappointed.


By Melissa Melvin

Why is it so important to disciple the disabled?

Interview with Greg Brown by Dean Ridings March 2023
Dean Ridings is field staff with The Navigator


I met recently with Greg Brown, a longtime friend who heads Mephibosheth Ministry, which is “dedicated to encouraging and equipping the local church of Jesus to reach out into their communities and minister the gospel of Jesus to those families who have been affected by a disability.” It was an inspirational time!

We met about a friend who has asked where they can get support for their disabled 9 year old daughter. I interviewed Greg about Mephibosheth Ministry.


1. Why is it important to share the gospel with the disabled, even those who are unable to speak?


The joy that comes from knowing the Lord Jesus Christ is for everyone!

Everyone is disabled, everyone—by sin. We have an inherent disability that only has one cure. The ultimate end of man is death—everyone. It’s the only way out of here. So, the only cure, the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ, which offers eternal life, is available to all—everyone.

We are all challenged by the result of the fall, some more than others. Throughout the Gospels, the example set by Jesus, in word and deed, was to reach out to those in need. The community was improved after the lives of those least fortunate were changed. The very nature of Jesus is of one to serve the most lowly in need.

Every human being is body, soul, and spirit. All life is a precious gift from God and He communicates to all regardless of whether they can communicate to their surroundings.

Trust the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth of Jesus, not your “ability” to see.


2. How do you disciple the disabled?


The goal of discipleship is to introduce someone to Jesus and His life-changing grace. To set them on a path of hunger for His presence in their lives daily. The process is the same for everyone, disabled or not.

First, a personal conversation with Jesus is imperative. Talk, whether outwardly or through your thoughts, to Him. Begin a relationship based telling Him all about you, even though He knows, it’s the way we are designed. When you become comfortable conversing with Him, talk to Him about others around you. Begin to share with Him the needs of those around you. Keep track of your prayers to see His answers. Intercessory prayer is the highest and best use of our time. To tell the Almighty about those in need around you is often all the disabled can do. What better calling is there?

Next, we learn to memorize Bible verses. For some this is an easy exercise. For others, it may be challenging. But once a verse is learned, it stays in the mind ready to be recalled when needed.

After intercessory prayer and Bible memorization, then we are encouraged to tell our friends. If that life changing grace is true and for all, telling those around you is natural. The disabled have a subculture that is exclusive. Those disciples, who happen to have a disability, are often the only light available to a dark world.


3. Why should every church be reaching out to the handicapped and disabled in their communities?


Jesus tells us Himself that He came for the sick not the healthy (Mark 2:17). His sternest rebukes were for the religious leaders of the day.

Not much has changed, especially His words that tell us of the blessings that are available when we reach out to the least of these among us (see Matthew 25). When a community learns that a group of believers cares for, comforts, and blesses those who cannot repay in any way, the Holy Spirit blesses the entire community.

His words and actions of 2,000 years ago are true today. When the church sees the value of life in everyone, real change happens!


Closing Considerations


First, I sure hope this has been an encouragement to you.

Second, consider forwarding this blog post to the person who heads up ministry to the disabled in your church. Perhaps it will be an encouragement to him or her—and a great resource to tap into as well! (If your church doesn’t have such a ministry, consider forwarding this blog post to your pastor!)

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TO DISCIPLE THE DISABLED