“I tell you the truth, when you were young, you were able to do as you liked; you dressed yourself and went wherever you wanted to go. But when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and others will dress you and take you where you don’t want to go.” Jesus said this to let him know by what kind of death he would glorify God. Then Jesus told him, “Follow me.” — John 21:18-19
My wife and I first met Tait Berge years ago at a Christian Writers Conference in Estes Park, Colorado. He was from Colorado Springs. Tait was probably in his early thirties at the time and had been disabled from his teenage years with cerebral palsy, a debilitating neurological and muscular disease. He’d lost a lot of his muscle control and lived life during the day in a motorized wheel chair. Someone had to dress him each day and take him to where he needed to be. He had to be loaded in his wheel chair and taken out again at the end of the day. Because he’d lost most of the use of his muscles, he had difficulty holding his head upright for long and to raise his legs required a motorized lift in his chair. He struggled mightily to use his almost paralyzed hands, which only after a painful and time consuming effort, allowed his fingers to reach their intended goal. Tait, however, had a fine mind—and he, like the rest of us, was aspiring to be a writer—even as he was mostly trapped inside his body.
Every morning at the conference we started with a worship service and a Bible study, which was attended by about 250 people. On the last day of the meeting we were seated close to Tait and he caught our eyes as he worshipped the Lord. We watched him as he strained to sing every note of praise and we listened to his labor of love, as his voice finally responded with a sound. The verse of the song was long gone before he could utter a word but his eyes told us that the song was in his heart. We watched his twisted hands as he struggled to raise them in the air, as a song of praise to our King. We found ourselves struggling with him but somehow we knew he would succeed on his own—and he did. Tait Berge was a follower of Jesus.
In my last church before I retired, I sometimes would go to the back of the sanctuary during worship and watch the people. Body language can tell you a lot. Some appeared to be consumed with the worship, while others seemed like they couldn’t wait until it was over, as they looked around with arms folded. Thinking back on those days, I wish Tait Berge had been a member of our church. Many in our congregation would have learned a lot from him about true worship. He became one of my heroes that day!
The years have since past and I found myself wondering what ever happened to Tait. Was he still with us? Did he succeed in his writing desire? So, I did what all of us do when we seek information these days—I “googled” his name and there he was—in his wheelchair with a big smile on his face and still following Jesus. His webpage told me he had just recently published his fourth book, “My Name Is Tait!” So Happy Thanksgiving brother Tait—you continue to be our inspiration.
Happy Thanksgiving, as well, to all of you dear friends. Thanks so much for your many kind words of encouragement. We have so much for which to be thankful. Maranatha!
“For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship
in spirit and in truth.” — John 4:24
A weekly devotional to help us walk closer with God and to know Him better
