For Reasons Usually Unknown

For reasons usually unknown
Some of the sweetest spirits
Can't operate the bodies they own
And must rely on their parents

With these obvious limitations
Comes the challenge to progress
As through trial and investigation
Their deepest needs are addressed

And all along the way
There's sweet and tender care
As parents hope for a better day
When all they have their child will share

On earth, we're each subject to disease and death
And we're to care for the bodies as a gift that's priceless
As without it we would never know eternal breath
What a blessing it is to function at our highest!

A perfect body is not required
To achieve a divine destiny
What we need is to live as God desires
For he knows what we're meant to be

For when both limb and joint shall be restored
The helpless will know proper frame unto perfection
As the body and spirit reunite in form
They'll receive all God has on that day of resurrection

Who'll not want to be there and see
The joy of parents with these children
For then they'll witness the maturity
Of the spirits they only glimpsed within

"For reasons usually unknown, some people are born with physical limitations. Specific parts of the body may be abnormal. Regulatory systems may be out of balance. And all of our bodies are subject to disease and death. Nevertheless, the gift of a physical body is priceless. Without it, we cannot attain a fullness of joy.

"A perfect body is not required to achieve a divine destiny. In fact, some of the sweetest spirits are housed in frail frames. Great spiritual strength is often developed by those with physical challenges precisely because they are challenged. Such individuals are entitled to all the blessings that God has in store for His faithful and obedient children.

"Eventually the time will come when each 'spirit and . . . body shall be reunited again in . . . perfect form; both limb and joint shall be restored to its proper frame.' Then thanks to the Atonement of Jesus Christ, we can become perfected in Him."

Russell M. Nelson, “We are Children of God,” Ensign, Nov. 1998, 85

click on the title to go to the lds site with wonderful quotes of comfort and hope for the parents of children with disabilities