In February of 2006, an autistic high school senior named Jason McElwain taught his entire school a lesson on the reality of joy. Jason had served as the basketball team manager for three seasons, diligently fetching water, catching rebounds, and mopping up sweat.

However, for the last game of the season, Jason's coach decided to reward the young man's efforts by allowing him to suit up. Then, with ...

Louie and Jeanette, a couple in their 80s, have a 55-year-old son, Louis. Their son has been severely mentally handicapped all his life and is cared for in a fine institution. As Christian parents, Louie and Jeanette were concerned about their son's spiritual development and prayed for him often. But their son only speaks an occasional short phrase or a few isolated words at a time, so there was no ...

An organization advertised for climbers interested in setting new records for climbing the highest point in each of the 50 United States within a 100-day period. A young man named Todd Huston saw the article and decided to go for it. Seeking the advice of expert climbers, he trained hard. The expedition was scheduled to begin in April 1994.

Everything was on track up until the last two months. The ...

In his book Disappointment with God, Philip Yancey offers a powerful metaphor for the church:

I have a bright, talented, and very funny friend in Seattle named Carolyn Martin. But Carolyn has cerebral palsy, and it is the peculiar tragedy of her condition that its outward signs—drooling, floppy arm movements, inarticulate speech, a bobbing head—cause people who meet her to wonder if she is retarded. ...

The concept of burying objects with the dead has been around for a long time. Ancient Egyptians interred food and everyday objects, even furniture, in hopes of having access to them in the afterlife. An ancient Chinese emperor had an army of 6,000 terra cotta soldiers buried with him for his protection after death.

According to surveyed funeral directors, an increasing number of families are depositing ...

Bill Broadhurst was running in the Omaha, Nebraska, Pepsi 10k, a race of 6.2 miles. Broadhurst, who is a Christian, is slowed by a brain aneurism he suffered as a young man, leaving him partially paralyzed on the left side. He wanted to finish the 10k despite this obstacle. He was determined to run because Bill Rogers, his hero, was in the race that day.

Rogers is a great runner and ran the race in ...

When Aaron Barg was three months old, a hernia left him in almost constant pain. Finding a surgeon who could repair the hernia was easy, say his parents, Steve and Susan Barg. But finding an anesthesiologist was almost impossible.

With a rare genetic disorder called Trisomy 13, Aaron was born with a weakened heart and lungs and an undeveloped brain, and he was deaf and legally blind. Doctors told the ...

Researchers suggest that the 17th-century Dutch master Rembrandt may have suffered from a vision condition that contributed to his success. After analyzing 36 of Rembrandt's self-portraits, experts concluded that the great painter suffered from strabismus—a condition involving the misalignment of one eye so that it points in an outward direction—more commonly known as wall-eye.

Remembrandt's paintings ...

Wilma Rudolph was the 20th of 22 children. Born prematurely, doctors did not expect Wilma to survive. She did, but at the age of four, she contracted double pneumonia and scarlet fever, leaving her left leg paralyzed. She learned to walk with the aid of a metal brace.

When Wilma was nine-years-old, she removed the leg brace and began walking without it. By age 13, she developed a rhythmic walk. That ...

Eric Weihenmayer calls himself an "unrealistic optimist," and that is a good description since he was the first blind climber ever to reach the top of Mount Everest. Now he does business consulting and charity work, helping people see the world in new ways.

Asked by Fast Company magazine what he looks for in teammates, his response sums up what faith is all about. He said, "I look for people who have ...