I wrote an essay for TIME that came out today: How Disability Changed What Easter Means to My Family.

As I write in this essay, when our daughter Penny was first diagnosed with a disability, I saw disability itself as a problem in need of fixing. Over time, I began to see our social expectations and norms, as well as my own attitudes and assumptions, as the real problem. I wondered whether the stories from the Bible of Jesus healing people with disabilities were instances of Jesus locating the problem of disability within the bodies of individuals. I came to understand that Jesus’ healing is not about fixing bodies or minds that don’t conform to social standards. Rather, Jesus’ healing–and Jesus’ wounding in his death and Jesus’ scars in his resurrection–is about a new understanding of belovedness and belonging.

As Christians celebrate Good Friday and Easter this weekend, may we also celebrate a God who makes us well not by fixing us, but by suffering with us and receiving and restoring us to love. 

You can read the whole essay here. 

More with Amy Julia:

• New York Times: I’m Thankful Every Day for the Decision I Made After My Prenatal Tests
• A Good and Perfect Gift: Faith, Expectations, and a Little Girl Named Penny
• Missing Out on Beautiful essay collection

If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to receive regular updates and news. You can also follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, and Goodreads, and you can subscribe to my Love Is Stronger Than Fear podcast on your favorite podcast platform.