When my dad was in his mid-fifties, he noticed a slight tremor in his left hand. I noticed it too. My dad, a pastor, performed my wedding. He did a great job, but I noticed the pages of his notes shaking as he preached. It was a month or so after the wedding that he found our why he was shaking: Parkinson’s disease.

If you know anyone with Parkinson’s, you know how brutal it is. It’s a degenerative neurological disorder. “The gift that keeps on taking” is how one person described it. Twenty years after his diagnosis, my father is fortunate to be walking still. But others aren’t so lucky, often declining rapidly within 5 to 10 years. I’ve lost count of how many friends and family members I’ve heard of being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Then today, I learned that my favorite Christian author and friend, Philip Yancey has the disease. As Yancey notes, there’s a certain appropriate, if cruel, symmetry to him receiving this diagnosis. As he writes, “I’ve spent years writing about pain and suffering. Now I’ll spend years learning how to live with physical disability.” Read: Parkinson’s—The Gift I Didn’t Want.

While we’re on the topic, I want to encourage you to check out our resource on responding to disabilities. It offers a biblical understanding of disabilities and practical insights for reaching out and coming alongside people with disabilities.