July 5, week 5 part 1

I had a amazing experience yesterday, one that I want to share while it's still fresh in my mind. While at the Portland Blues Festival, on July 4th, a group of musicians and singers called "United by Music," got up on the stage.  With them, where a number of other musicians and singers that I recognized from previous performances both this year and previous years.  The  group was introduced only by saying that they were musicians united by music.  The audience was asked, "Imagine a world where there was no discrimination, and everyone was united by music." Once these singers and musicians began to play, it quickly became obvious that each one had some type of disability.  There were a number of blind players, but also a number of singers with multiple disabilities. The main feature singer was a woman who was blind and also had other challenges that I am not sure of.  She was very short, making a number of people around me wonder if she was a child, (which she was not). When she started to sing, everyone was blown away.  She was the first person I saw at the festival that got so many people off their feet in a standing ovation when she was done.  Her song was absolutely beautiful, so much so, that it made me cry.  It was so beautiful to get to see her using her musical gifts, even if she didn't fit the image.  It was amazing to see the way in which the crowd reacted to this group of musicians. Everyone was very enthusiastic and supportive. At the end of the performances, they said that they are looking for more people with talent to join their group.  I wanted to join. Why am I sharing this story, you might wonder?  I am sharing it because it was a lightbulb moment for me. Like everyone, people with disabilities have God-given gifts and talents that need to be shared.  That's why God gives them to us- for sharing.  Inclusion in classrooms, is one way for children to share their gifts with us.  Whether disabled or not, we all have gifts.  How beautiful it is, to see them being used.