"He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother!"

Tim is an interesting guy. He’s intelligent, a good listener, has a sharp wit and a catchy laugh.

He’s the positive, outgoing type who loves to be around people. He’s also a pretty good cook and do-it-yourself home repairman. On first impression, you’d never guess any of that. And if you were in any kind of hurry, you’d never find out.

You see, fourteen years ago Tim had an aneurism, and an error during the surgery to repair it caused a stroke. For the last few years, Tim has been confined to a wheelchair and his speech can be difficult to understand.

In 2000, Tim responded to an ad in the paper for the Berean Singles Group New Year’s Super Bowl Bash. There he was, sitting and watching the game when Mark Noble came up to say hello and talk for a while. When someone called later to invite Tim to the next activity, Tim said, “Sure, if you call Mark.”

Tim enjoyed the camaraderie and the sense of acceptance that he felt from Mark and the others in the singles group, and for the last seven years has been an active part of the class. He and Mark were at nearly every possible activity, including visits to the driving range, trips to Pike’s Peak, and games and concerts sitting in the top rows of the stadiums. Tim saw his physical challenges as just that — challenges — and he faced them head-on.

When God asks us to serve, we never quite know where it will lead. Mark concedes that at first, helping Tim seemed like a lot of work. But that was many, many years ago. “Now we’re just good friends.” In that moment, Mark’s words may have been different but what he said was an echo of “He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother!”

Mark’s wife, Jackie, agrees: “Sometimes people will say, ‘It’s so sweet of you to help!’ What they don’t understand is that Tim helps us just as much as we help him, just in different ways. It’s a two-way street.” Being friends with Tim, they’ve both learned to be better listeners, to slow life down, to be more appreciative of God’s blessings. In their conversations, Tim’s open, honest questions helped Mark and Jackie define and refine what they believed it meant to follow Jesus. They wouldn’t trade their friendship with Tim for anything: “With Tim, you can let your guard down; you can be yourself. He accepts you unconditionally. His friendship is like a safe haven. There is no greater gift than to allow someone to be himself, and Tim gives that to us. God has blessings in places you’d never think to look, if you’re willing to step outside your comfort zone and help others.”

It may be that Mark and Jackie see Tim through God’s eyes. “Tim may not be able to see it yet, but we can really see God using him to reach a lot of people in the future. With his physical disability, Tim does not pose a ‘threat’ to people and they will listen to him share about God, where they might not listen to someone who is ‘able-bodied’. When that happens, it will be an awesome feeling to be a part of that!”