“God does not see as a mortal, who sees the appearance. The Lord looks into the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7).
I recently became acquainted with the scripture passage above while reading a book that was given to me by Gail Werne, Korrine Whitehead and Alli Werne who authored “Able: How God showed two physically disabled sisters what they are able to do through Him.” I chose to share this particular scripture from the book because, for me, it resonated with the stories in the book and those that I had the pleasure of hearing first-hand as we gathered for coffee on a beautiful October morning.
As I entered the Olde School Café in Huntingburg, I was greeted by four women – Gail, Alli, Korrine and Laura – who were so kind to meet with me and share their stories. Gail is mom to Alli and Korrine. Laura is a friend who, through God’s grace, was called to accompany these three women on a spiritual journey for several years. That led to the writing of “Able.”
In this article, I will not share the details of their stories but, instead, invite you to experience this book. In many ways, it can be transformative as you contemplate the reflection questions at the end of each chapter – and pray at the end of each chapter for what you may need. Held within in its pages are insights for all of us as we face our own challenges throughout life.
Our struggles might not particularly look like those of Gail, Allison or Korrine, but we must figure out how we will navigate them nonetheless. The Werne women wanted to share their story in an effort to help everyone know “that anyone can rise above the disabling circumstances of life.”
For Alli and Korrine, this meant discovering the abilities God had bestowed upon. Despite Alli’s diagnosis of cerebral palsy and Korrine’s diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, both sisters chose not to be limited by those diagnoses. Instead, they live every day following their mom’s Godly wisdom: “how and why things happen to us are not as vital to understand as the choice we make to accept them and move forward with the God-given abilities we have. Holy acceptance is when we relinquish the control we have over our earthly circumstance and move forward with God’s holy will for our lives.”
This sounds pretty straight forward; but as we all know, it is not so easily accomplished. Gail, Alli and Korrine acknowledge this; but at the same time, they have learned that, when we lean on God for constant support and guidance, things that may seem impossible can become possible!
On my drive home from Huntingburg after meeting the women, a familiar story came to mind. It is the story of the little boy who sits in front of his mom as she cross-stitches. He comments on how messy her work looks and how he can’t make any sense of what she is creating. His mom assures him that, when he sees the other side, he will have a different perspective and see the beauty that lies within the creation.
My time with these faith-filled woman reminded me that we, just like that little boy, get stuck looking at the wrong side of life. We all have a tendency to look at what we don’t have or can’t do instead of remembering God’s plan is one of beauty and purpose.
The pages of “Able” contain a treasure to be shared. It provides us a deeper understanding of those who live differently in the world because of differing abilities, and it provides us an inspiring story of an encounter with the God of hope. In the telling of their stories, we are reminded that we may never know the reason why our lives are as they are; but we can trust in God that they are, in fact, beautiful and meaningful in every respect.
Gail, Allison, Korrine and Laura are members of St. Mary Parish in Huntingburg. Korrine and Alli are available for presentations and may be reached at [email protected].
“Able” is available online at Amazon.