Randy Schwartz joins Stephanie Daniels to share about coming to faith as an adult, being a special needs dad and devoted husband, and learning to trust God with all aspects of life. When his younger son was born with spina bifida, Randy and his wife turned to Jesus, relying on his grace day by day. Don’t miss this encouraging conversation that highlights God’s loving care for every detail of our lives.
Joni and Friends team member Randy Schwartz joins Stephanie Daniels to share about coming to faith as an adult, being a special needs dad and devoted husband, and learning to trust God with all aspects of life. When his younger son was born with spina bifida, Randy and his wife turned to Jesus, relying on his grace day by day.
Listen to our Season 6 conversation with Dr. Benjamin Warf, a neurosurgeon at Boston Children’s Hospital, who has a passion for training the next generation of surgeons and improving access to quality care. Dr. Warf shares his story and encouragement for families—fathers in particular—who live with disability.
More resources:
Dig into God’s Word with Joni Eareckson Tada’s Bible reading plan!
Discover books to disciple the children in your life
Learn more about Joni and Friends Family Retreat
KEY QUESTIONS:
KEY SCRIPTURES:
Stephanie Daniels:
Hi friends! I’m your host, Stephanie Daniels, and you’re listening to the Joni and Friends Ministry Podcast. We’re sharing hope as we answer real questions about disability. Join us every week for an honest and encouraging conversation, along with practical ways to include people with disability in your church and community. So, grab a seat, and let’s jump in!
Randy Schwartz has such an encouraging story. It's a beautiful example of how God wastes nothing, not our suffering, or hardship, or experiences. God cares about the details of our lives and uses it all to display his glory and point people to him. Randy is a devoted husband, father, and our Joni and Friends Ministry Relations Manager in Florida.
Today he joins us to share some of his life experiences and how the Lord has brought beauty out of the ashes while working all things for Randy's good and God's glory. Welcome to the podcast, Randy.
Randy Schwartz:
Stephanie, thank you so much for inviting me and just all that. I'm so excited to be here and, and just have a conversation and point to what God has done.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah, yeah. We're so glad to have you. Get us started by just sharing some of your salvation story. When you shared it with me, I thought it was really remarkable. So, we'll start there.
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah, absolutely. So I grew up without really any church background. I had a grandmother who was a very, very faithful believer and so we'd go to church sometimes and she really did a lot of praying and sharing, but it really never stuck with me in any way.
I was really heavily into baseball. And so really that became a passion and a focus. Played four years of college baseball and at the end of it, my plan for my life hadn't happened. I wasn't drafted and I wasn't signed and all these things.
So, I was back student teaching and I got an invitation to a tryout, and on the way I picked up a book in the airport. I just had nothing else to do. I found this book called “The Year of Living Biblically.” It was this white cover with this guy on the front, and he was dressed like an old shepherd uh, in the middle of Times Square. He was going to immersively read the Bible and try to live out everything.
So, I flipped in the back without having a church background and realized that he didn't convert in the book. And so, I was like, okay, it's a safe book. I can read this. And uh, and so as I was reading it, what really struck me was I realized that I didn't know as much about the Bible as I thought.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, it didn't actually have any good motivations behind it. I really wanted to read the Bible to tell people why they were so wrong for believing it.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
And be prepared to defend it against anybody who wanted to share it with me. And so, the verse that stuck out was you shall not wear clothes of mixed fibers. And I was like, there's no way that's in the Bible. And as I looked at it and found it was there, like realizing, man, I just don't know anything about this.
So, as I started to read it, I don't, I don't even know the timing, it was probably about a month. I started reading it just to get this ammunition, right?
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
I even had a bookmark with lists of what I would say. And in that I had a series of dreams. The second dream, I kept encountering this snake on a couch.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
And it kept telling me to do things and I was telling it no and back and forth. And it ends up that I'm wrapped in the coils of this snake.
I remember thinking, I just, there's no way I'm gonna win this battle. Right? Like, I'm not gonna win this fight. I remember even thinking like, I had heard somewhere that if you die in your dreams, you die in real life. And I don't believe that, but I just had heard that, right? And I remember thinking it in my dream. And at that moment I started to gain ground out of the coils of the snake.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And I never opened my eyes. And when I did open my eyes, finally totally outta the snake, I look around to see what had changed and Jesus has his hands on the head of the snake.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, we throw the snake out of the door, I'd say together, but it's really probably he just threw it out and I pretended to help.
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow.
Randy Schwartz:
And uh, and I have no idea what he looked like. I have no idea anything about how I knew. I just knew who it was. At the doorway, he said, "You've been so foolish your whole life. What is it gonna take?" Then I wake up. So here I am, this like atheistic agnostic who had just had a dream where Jesus called me foolish.
Stephanie Daniels:
Hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And what do you do with that, right? And so, I left my room, and a roommate, at three in the morning on a Saturday morning, saw me in the hallway. The only thing they said to me was, if you'd like to go to church with us on Sunday, you're more than welcome. They don't recall saying it. No recollection of this happening. But I went to church with them on Sunday, and the pastor was sharing the passage about the unforgiving servant.
For the first time I saw myself and my sin. Here's this guy forgiven of all this money. And he turns around and he wants to choke out a guy who owes him not very much. The pastor was showing how that was really us. That if Christ has died to forgive us of all the sin that, we can't even fathom how much he saved us from, then how dare we hold that against anybody else? It wasn't so much of like a, "How dare we" maybe, as much as it was a, "If you really understood forgiveness, it'd be really hard to...
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
...hold something against somebody."
And I just started weeping. I realized my own need. He presented the Gospel in a very clear way. I went up to him after I said, I don't know what this means, but I think I just became a Christian. Can you tell me if I did? So, he explained it. And from there I just had a deep passion for obvious reasons...
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
...for the word of God and just knowing him through his word. With no credit to myself, God placed me in all the right places.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
To meet all the right people. Just in his severe kindness.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yes.
Randy Schwartz:
Eventually I met my wife. She was a Christian school teacher. I didn't even know Christian schools existed. After we got married, I started teaching at one too. Eventually became a Bible teacher...
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow.
Randy Schwartz:
...in a Christian school, in student ministry. So, from this no church beginning all the way through, what a grace and a mercy of God to just pluck me out of nowhere.
Stephanie Daniels:
It's just so beautiful how the Lord works in our stories. Truly, I mean showing you his truth and it is for your good and his glory. He's showing you his truth, making you a disciple. And I think it is so powerful. So, you get to where you are, you meet your wife. When did you guys get married?
Randy Schwartz:
We got married in December of 2011.
Stephanie Daniels:
Okay.
Randy Schwartz:
And she had a very opposite testimony. She had a VBS conversion kind of story when she was very young and has faithfully followed the Lord since then. But the thing that was the same about us, and I remember when I met her, this vision of two people walking down the same road towards the sunset. It's the fact that you're not following one another, but you're both pursuing Christ.
And to me that was like the most attractive thing ever about her. It was just that she was so fervently chasing after the Lord. And I felt very humbled, because here I am, like fairly new to the faith, but had grown very quickly. So, I was just like, I can't believe that she said yes.
Stephanie Daniels:
Oh, okay there's a nugget in there for somebody who is single looking for the one that God has for you. Be pursuing the Lord and it makes you attractive. I promise. That's how I felt about my husband.
Randy Schwartz:
Right. That's right.
Stephanie Daniels:
That's so beautiful. Okay, so you guys got married. Do you have children?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah, we do. We have two boys. Zion is nine and uh, Judah is seven. They are extremely energetic and just joyful and kind, compassionate little guys. They love one another, best friends. They're fun, fun guys.
Stephanie Daniels:
That's precious. Okay, so tell us about Judah, because Judah lives with a disability.
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah. Judah has spina bifida and then for people who may not be familiar with what that term is, it just is a fancy way to say split spine.
When Judah was born, he came out pre-surgery. He had a hole in his back that was a bubble where his spine came out. And while he was in utero and he was in the womb, there's just passing back and forth between this membrane, this skin on the bubble, and it can damage the nerves of the spine.
So, if you were to see Judah, his disability would be visible because he walks with forearm crutches and wears ankle braces. He likes to say he uses his wheelchair for speed and endurance so he, he can both move around in the wheelchair when he wants to go fast or in his crutches. And, but yeah, he's just a determined little guy and uh...
Stephanie Daniels:
I love it.
Randy Schwartz:
...yeah. But we found out about his spina bifida at 20 weeks in utero. Before we even had a name for Judah, we knew about spina bifida and learned a whole lot really quickly.
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow, at 20 weeks in utero? What was that like finding out and receiving his diagnosis?
Randy Schwartz:
It was Spirit Week. My wife and I were both teaching at the time and we were all dressed up in eighties gear. I had like eighties eyeliner on and a headband. So, we're all excited to go to our 20 week appointment and we'd found out four weeks earlier that he was a boy. So, we were thinking about who our son was gonna be. And at 20 weeks they actually misread the ultrasound at first.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And they actually saw it as something more severe than it was. So, they sent us to a specialist the next morning. Some babies live up to 24 hours with this condition. And so, we were braced for that. What does that mean and what does that look like and how do we get held by God in this right?
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, the next morning we went to a specialist, did another ultrasound and he said, okay, this is what's going on. It's not what they said it was before. Here's why they missed it. His brain has shifted down a centimeter because there's fluid leaking out of his back by a little bit.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, it's just not where they were looking.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
But it is there. The part of his brain that they thought was not as there. But this thing is called spina bifida. At that point he told us about the "options we had," quote unquote.
We were firm in our faith and knew what we believed about life. But even so, all of your expectations of what you thought it was gonna be. You see pictures in your mind of things that are not necessarily what will be. And so it's scary at first 'cause you just don't know.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
There's such an unknown to it.I hadn't read John nine recently. I hadn't memorized it. But the Holy Spirit gives you the words to speak. And I just said, can I tell you a story? When Jesus was walking with his disciples, they came across a man who was born blind. And the disciples only had two categories. They thought either, God had looked into the future and seen this man was gonna be so sinful that he had struck him with this blindness or that his parents had done something. So, they asked him which it was. Was it him or his parents that had caused this blindness? And Jesus said it was neither, but that it was the works of God might be displayed in him.
I told this all to this doctor and I said, “Look, if this is who our son is, I don't know what that means, but I know that's who he is. This is who God says he is. And so, if you're okay with that, if you want to see what that is too, we would love for you to be our doctor. And if not, then we can find somebody else.” And just the relief on his face. This is a man who's dedicated his life to those kind of appointments.
He became such a great doctor for us, and he was even in the delivery room for the C-section. That was not normal. Didn't usually do that anymore. And they were all like teasing him when he walked in like, "Oh look, he's here." But he would just had become part of our family.
It grieves me to think of how many times doctors have to give the, quote unquote, "options."
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And have to hear, "Yes, I'd like more information about that."
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow.
Randy Schwartz:
So, for us you know, it was never a question, but I just see the evil in that, right? Yeah. Like, here's this life. And I think about who Judah is, and he is just a beacon of God's light.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
And all the things that run through your mind at first are not at all what life was like and even if it were, God is faithful. So, it's such an incredible thing, where God pulls up those passages to your mind when you're not expecting it either.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
The first time you thought it was when it came outta your own mouth.
Stephanie Daniels:
That's so powerful. I love how he speaks. I, I definitely can resonate with that, where you might be walking through something and all of a sudden a scripture comes to mind and it's just the thing that you need to keep you going to encourage you through. And I just can't even imagine. I know how I can get sometimes when I'm like, okay, I gotta just freak out for a second. But to go back to that room where you guys got the news, and how you didn't freak out, is just the grace of God, I'm sure.
Randy Schwartz:
That's all it is. Yeah.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah. Yeah. He's so good. Well, we've previously had Dr. Ben Wharf on the show. He's one of our Joni and Friends board members, and you had a connection with Dr. Ben before joining the ministry. Can you share a little bit about that?
Randy Schwartz:
And I didn't know it until after I joined the ministry. So, our neurosurgeon here in Orlando is just phenomenal. When Judah was born, he had his back closure right away. And one thing that's associated with spina bifida pretty often is hydrocephalus. Where water builds up on the brain. But we weren't sure what Judah would look like that way. So, what we wanna do is see as an infant, has that soft spot, and their head is forming...
Stephanie Daniels:
mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
...to see what would happen and how Judah would respond. And it became clear that we needed to do something. A typical thing is a shunt is placed, but there's this procedure that our neurosurgeon said had been done before, but there's really a doctor who had been kind of re piloting it and really using it a lot in Africa actually. It's called an ETV procedure and there's a big fancy name for that, but I'll spare it for now.
And so, we'd like to try that. And it held for a little bit, it didn't end up being the solution for Judah. But you know, the story is always in my mind of like, I wonder who that is that did that? A shunt, they can fail. So, if there's something else that could work, where it doesn't require that, especially in a place like in Sub-Saharan Africa, it would be such a benefit to communities.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Well, here the doctor that it was, I found out later by listening to this podcast that it was actually Dr. Benjamin Wharf. So, I had already accepted the job with Joni and Friends, and I was listening to Ministry podcast to get a feel for who we are as Joni and Friends, and I was like, that's who it is! Just sitting there waiting for me to discover it later.
Stephanie Daniels:
Wow. Wow. And that was such a sweet podcast too, with Dr. Wharf. And so, if you guys are curious, you should definitely go back and take a listen in Season 6, Episode 4. I'm sure it will be a blessing to you.
So, let's back up a bit, Randy. For a stint, you and your wife both taught in Christian school, and you would share family stories with your students. How did that encourage them?
Randy Schwartz:
I started out in physical education and then I taught science for about six years, and then I finally taught Bible. Somebody recently asked me what I taught and I said, "students." Because to us that was really the whole point was yes, I'm teaching you the X Ys and Zs of a certain subject, and those are really important, and I don't wanna downplay that. But as Christian educators, we're really there to be another one of those people in the cloud of witnesses that is helping shape and disciple and help these students understand their lives in the face of God, right?
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Who he is and what he's done and what that means for them. So, because that was really important for me to always share, not just how I was growing, but also things that were not easy.
When we found out about spina bifida for Judah, we were off that day and it was a couple days until we were back in the classroom. But the very first thing I did in every one of my classes was sit down in front of the class and just explain exactly what was going on. I shared the story about John 9 with them. And all along the way, just anything that would happen, I mean our students were phenomenal. Families were phenomenal supporting us. And the teachers. I mean, the whole school was just incredible.
I just noticed these students, if we show up and we just teach them the subject, but they don't get to see our lives, then they're really missing what God has given us to give them.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, to me, I continually think of how many other students will face a situation like that after an ultrasound. Or just opportunities to maybe serve within disability ministry or something like that. And they see it very differently because they're like, I remember when Mr. And Mrs. Schwartz walked through that, and I remember how they were held by the Lord, and I saw he was faithful to them, and so I know he can be faithful to me.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
I think we do a disservice if we're not an open book to them, because it's really God's story that he's writing in us. It's not, it's not ours to keep.
Stephanie Daniels:
100%. I guess I'm thinking of John 13:35 says they'll know we are Christians by our love, but I think, you're sowing seeds. You just are sowing seeds. And I always remember one of our pastors always shared, "more is caught than taught." And so, I love that you are bringing them in and being vulnerable with your walk and just how you shared with them. You had one student that this really ministered to, right? When you were just kind of sharing what you were going through, he had no clue. He was kind of blown away that you were walking it with such strength.
Randy Schwartz:
Hmm. Yeah. And such weakness maybe.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
In God's strength. But this student in particular came to our school in seventh grade. And I think I might've been the first class that he had. First period of the first day. But it happened to be that because I switched from science to Bible, I had him in seventh and eighth grade for science. I switched to Bible, and I taught 9th and 10th, and he happened to be in my class. And then I taught him again as a senior.
When he was in ninth grade, I was sharing a little bit about when Judah had his shunt placed. I would leave from school, eat dinner with our older son, Zion, and then, my mother-in-law would be there and she'd stay with Zion, and then I would drive to the hospital. And my wife would come home and then I would sleep the night in the hospital, get up in the morning and go to the family bathrooms and shower and get ready for school, and then go to school. And then do the same thing over again. Just school to home, to hospital.
And that was a few weeks, I don't remember the exact number of days. I don't even remember why I was sharing it, but I was sharing it forgetting that he was in the class when that had happened. And I didn't share that much about it when that was going on. And he said, "I had no idea that you were doing that. And the reason I have no idea is 'cause like you didn't show it, it wasn't on your face. Like you didn't treat us any differently."
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
"You were still you." And he said like, "How did you do that?" And I said, "Literally in the moment of doing it, God's sustaining power just pushed us through." But I wouldn't have even known to say that. That's all we could do. Right? And when I do look back and I go, “Wow, how did, how did I do that?” And it's no credit to me at all. It really is that, when you're in those moments, God prepares you and enables you and gives you the strength to face the troubles of today, today.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
And I always love combining those two ideas in scripture of, sufficient for the day is its own troubles.
Stephanie Daniels:
Right.
Randy Schwartz:
But also, that God's mercies are new every morning. So, every morning you wake up, there's this list of troubles that you'll face. But at the same point, before you turn outta bed, his mercies that are sufficient for those troubles are there in your hands. Right? And he doesn't give you tomorrow's mercies for today's. And he doesn't give you yesterday's. It's like the Mana idea right? They woke up and it was there every morning.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
And when they needed two days, 'cause they weren't supposed to collect on the Sabbath...
Stephanie Daniels:
That's right.
Randy Schwartz:
...it was there for them. Like God met them at every point with whatever they needed. And that's exactly, how our family has been through everything we've been through.
Stephanie Daniels:
Gosh, you know sometimes people say, "Well, I don't see God using me." But you never know when he is using you. You're just walking out your life, going from day to day, and from situation to situation, and the Lord could just be allowing people to see you, walking in his strength, as you said, and it is s peaking volumes. I absolutely love that.
So how did you find your way to Joni and Friends?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah. So last year I was open to look for just a different opportunity. We had been looking for a little bit and nothing really seemed to fit. Maybe this isn't the time. And then my wife found the posting online for a Joni and Friends Ministry Relations Manager.
I knew of Joni somewhat. I'd heard her story. My grandmother who was a believer, she had told me about Joni, and, but I didn't know anything about Joni and Friends. I didn't know anything about the ministry that we do.
So, my wife is reading this job posting and so as she's reading it, she's like, “Randy, I think you need to read this job posting.” I said, well, why is that? She said, “It's essentially describing you and all the things you care about.” I was like, well if my wife says that I'm definitely gonna believe it.
And sure, enough it's like, at Joni and Friends our passion for the Gospel is so primary to everything we do. And then beyond that we really believe the promises that God has for the church. And that the Gospel goes forth through his body. And then seeing that church become a real body including people of all different abilities and being a place of belonging.
That heart of our ministry, that heartbeat of what we do. And then obviously a family affected by disability. It was all the things that I, I really had learned and been prepared for, but also that I just cared about. So, I couldn't believe that there was a job like this.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah. That's so great. I love it. Well, I'm so glad your wife found the post and that you listened. We're glad you're a part of the team.
So, Judah recently had some time in the hospital and he got a special call. What was that like for him? Who called him? And did he realize who he was speaking with?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah so, Judah had a surgery on his spine recently. He was in the hospital a few days and our area director, Amy, in Florida, went out ahead and it got on Joni's radar. And so, Joni called Judah on a video call. My wife was really jealous because she was at home that time and it was just me and Judah in the hospital.
So, we set the computer up and he was in his hospital bed, and they just had a great conversation. And he knows who Joni is and he is read basically all of her children's books. So, he's just excited and it was funny 'cause he was saying like, "mm-hmm" he's being polite and respectful, but I don't think it picked up on the microphone. So, I'm like, I don't think she can hear you, so I'm trying to navigate that with him.
But what was so cool about it, and this is so much the heart of Joni in everything she does, she was discipling my son.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
You know, we're in that conversation and everything that she's pointing to, like she needed a drink during the phone call, and so she's like, excuse me one moment I just need to get a drink. And then you see like a hand reach in, and this straw comes in right, and she gets a drink. And then she explained to him, "When I need a drink, I need a friend to help me. And I'm so glad that I get to let people help me this way because it helps them serve Jesus. You know, Judah, when you and I, when we need people to help us in different ways, it's such a great opportunity for people to grow closer to Jesus 'cause they get to serve."
That was so powerful for him to hear from somebody that he respects already.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
And we all respect. Every opportunity she took.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yes.
Randy Schwartz:
And it was just such an encouragement to see somebody else that you deeply respect, not just be this impressive person, but really point to Christ so clearly. So, I'm so thankful for that phone call.
Stephanie Daniels:
Oh, that woman is just so, so special.
I love seeing people operate within their giftings. Talk about being a vessel and how the Lord uses you. And Judah and Zion serve at church sometimes, don't they?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah, they serve in so many ways because they're just ministry of presence. They just love to be there and, and that's an encouragement.
We have this woman in our church who's lost hearing and women in our church have just done a phenomenal job of wrapping around her. It's such a picture of what disability ministry is. They just love this woman and they're all learning sign language. And so we have somebody who interprets the sermon and things like that, but this group of women who have been learning it rotate every song. And at first it was her daughters but now it's new people who have learned sign language since, or at least these songs.
Well, Judah and Zion really wanted to do it. So, they started learning a song. They practiced it, and practiced it, and they had it down. And so, the next week that was on the rotation, they got the chance to come down and lead from the front and lead this song. Man, there wasn't a dry eye in the house because everyone's seen Judah's life in this church, and Zion, and the way the two of them interact. And then for them to now turn that around and contribute to the life of the church in this way, to serve somebody else's needs. That is what we're called to.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yes.
Randy Schwartz:
It's this idea of, it's not this thing that we do for other people, but disability ministry at its best is where people of all different abilities...
Stephanie Daniels:
Yes.
Randy Schwartz:
...are contributing members of the body. They have something to offer. And this is something that Judah and Zion love to do. It was so cool. Such a big proud Dad moment.
Stephanie Daniels:
Aw I bet. And I think it's just so precious because it does offer a fuller picture of the glory of God, and it's so beautiful to see people, like you said, with all abilities using their gifts and talents for the Lord. Nothing gets me weeping and in a ball faster than it does when I'm at Family Retreat and seeing, our sweet attendees just worshiping. And I typically will be one of the worship leaders for a week at Family Retreat, and by the end of the week every, everybody's up on stage with me leading and it is just so incredible and impactful and so sweet. So, I love that your boys are serving.
You guys recently went to your first Family Retreat. How was that?
Randy Schwartz:
It was incredible. If anybody doesn't know much about Family Retreat, this is this opportunity for families affected by disability to come and find respite, and find joy, and community in this Christ-honoring place.
And so, we got to go in December to Florida's Family Retreat. You know, as parents it was just such a joyful time to connect with other parents. We've really not done much. Judah's disability, almost purely affects him in a physical way.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, this is really one of our first times kind of fully enveloped and it was beautiful. There's no disclaimer needed. People just understand you as you're talking. You have this like knowing look as you're listening and a lot of nods as you're telling stories.
But one of the biggest, maybe the biggest, thing that came out of Family Retreat for our family was we were on our way home and we come in through our garage to go to our house. And my older son, Zion, was standing in the garage and, and he had tears in his eyes. I said, you okay? Like, I had no idea what was really going on. Mm-hmm. And, uh, and he's kinda like this little, not quite sure, yes nod. And I said, well, what's going on?
And he said, "I just, I just miss Family Retreat already because at school, or at church sometimes, people treat people meanly or, or differently. But a family retreat, it was like no matter what you were like, or no matter what you did, people just loved one another. And I just." And he pauses. And there's a video about Family Retreat that talks about it being a slice of heaven. He's never seen that video.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so he just says, "I feel like God gave me a preview of what heaven must be like." And I oh, just I started weeping because it was like, yes! Like that is exactly the picture of that kinda level of what it means to be fully embraced.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
And to be found in the love of God together.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Like what an incredible thing for a 9-year-old...
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
…right, to put voice too.
Stephanie Daniels:
100%. I love that you said that. It really is. I was telling somebody about that today. You know, when the families descend upon the Family Retreat location and everybody fills in the room for dinner. Like you said, there is no explanation needed. It's like everybody can let their hair down and just be who you are. There's no judgment. I mean, it's just all love in the room.
And so, I just encourage listeners, if you have not been to a Family Retreat, and maybe you don't live with disability maybe you wanna come serve, you just gotta get there. It is an incredible opportunity and it will change your life. Maybe sounds like a reach, but it's not. It will impact you for the better.
So, if you have questions about attending a Family Retreat, email us at info@joniandfriends.org and we would be happy to answer your questions. Or you can find us on social media, give us a follow, send us a direct message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.
Randy. I feel like you and your wife probably had lots of opportunities to ask the Lord, "Why?" When you look at your situation, when you look at Judah and wonder, "Why was he born with spina bifida?" You know, "Why did this happen?" Etc. How would you encourage someone listening today who might be encountering hardship and asking God why?
Randy Schwartz:
Such an important question I go back to when I was in the classroom, and I would tell students pretty often, “You're not gonna have many other opportunities to ask somebody a question that you kind of feel embarrassed to ask. So, if you want to, you can totally ask me. It's not gonna hurt me." And this is the question they would often ask. " Why would God..." Fill in the blank. In one way, and the only real answer doesn't always feel satisfying, but it really is that everything that happens is for God's glory.
We just literally can't understand exactly all the "whys." And the one way that's frustrating, but another way, that's the only place where you're gonna find real peace.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
And I think about Romans 11. Romans nine through 11 is some pretty tough going, there's some pretty hard questions. There's a lot of whys about why this way or why that way. And in Romans 11 at the end it says, "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways. For who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from him, and through him, and to him are all things to him be glory forever. Amen." And that's verses 33 through 36. At the end of this big thought of why this, why that? It just ends with everything is for from, through, to, all the different words that work that way to him and for his glory. But also like his ways are just so above our ways.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, while that's not satisfying, I think the other answer to the question is, if that's true, the follow up question is, well then how is it for God's glory?
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
How could this be for his glory? A million ways. Judah's only seven, but in his life already, there are literally thousands of ways that if you really sat there and accounted for them, you could count them all up. And there are ways that you never would've expected.
Stephanie Daniels:
Right.
Randy Schwartz:
And it shows the glory of God because he shows his strength over and over again in the joy that Judah has in life. In the compassion Judah has for others. In the way that it's changed me as a dad. In the way that it's made me depend on the Lord in times where I wouldn't have done it otherwise.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Why God? Well, it's taking our hope from lesser things and it's putting them on things that will really hold you. It points you to Christ over and over again. Or why? Well, it's the students that never would've seen life...
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
...and the value that every life has if they never would've seen this life. How he's building and growing Christ in Judah for the hope of glory. That, in itself, how do we deem that not worth it?
So, when we think of "why," we want this one-to-one answer. Well this happened because that will happen. And I just think we have too low of view of God. Why this one thing? Well, for a million reasons that you'll never fully understand.
Stephanie Daniels:
Right?
Randy Schwartz:
But if you wanna try, you'll be left basking in the glory of God, right? Like it's just incredible.
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah. I love that. It's just like so confounding when you think about it. It's just like, oh my gosh everything can and does point to his glory. We just have to like, sit and take things in and look at it and everything comes back to him. Also, I just think, the Lord allows these things to do a deeper work in us. It's about his sanctification.
And we have a guest coming on the podcast soon where he talks a lot about this. It's not so much about, "We just need to fix this disability," it's, “What is the Lord doing through this? How can his glory be seen?"
Everything you've said has been so rich. And I have one final question for you, Randy. in your role here at Joni and Friends, you've had the opportunity to meet people in a variety of churches, what would you say to someone who doesn't feel equipped to get involved in disability ministry? And this may be serving or even launching the first disability ministry at their church. Do you feel like you have some encouragement to share?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah. Number one, just to encourage them that that's a totally normal and natural way to feel. I think we've wrongly made disability ministry in our minds, it's very different. And what I think you'll find is, as you walk in, it's just discipleship. It really is just that.
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm-hmm.
Randy Schwartz:
And so, if you are a Christian and you're called to go make disciples, well this is just a version of that, just like everything else is a version of that. Who you're engaged with, and how you're engaging, might take specific skills or not, but you don't have to be somebody who's got clinical expertise. Do you care that people are being built up in Christ?
Stephanie Daniels:
Mm.
Randy Schwartz:
Do you care that people who are ever hearing of him will hear of him? If the answer is yes to that, and if you're a believer it is. Right?
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Then like you'll be surprised at how un-different, I know that's not a word, but how indifferent this really is, right?
Stephanie Daniels:
Yeah.
Randy Schwartz:
Like it's really not. So, if you take that first step, and use wisdom. Find other people who are already engaged in this. 'Cause you know, for me personally, I learned about disability one day at a time. Just like anybody else does. But it was easier for me I think, in those ways 'cause I didn't walk into a situation where everything is fully there and I gotta all of a sudden, keep all the plates spinning.
Stephanie Daniels:
Right.
Randy Schwartz:
God was very merciful to do that. But I think you'll find that families affected by disability, individuals affected by disability, are so willing to be merciful to you and to let you learn. That I think, that overwhelming feeling you have is probably really unjustified.
And then if you're looking to launch something, if you're looking to lead something. Most practically, I would point you to Joni and Friends has a ton of resources. If you go to joniandfriends.org/church, there are tons of resources on there for church leaders and to help equip them.
But maybe one of the most important ones is there's a map on there and you can find one of us. People like me who have been set aside to do this work to help mentor and guide and provide resources and point you to places that we can help you with that. So, in your area, if you look on that map, you'll be able to find, somebody to call and ask for help.
And then as you do that, I would say, pray. Really depend on the Lord for this because it's really his work, right? It's his ministry, it's not yours. And so pray and invite your leadership to join you in prayer this way, because that will be so important. You wanna build something that tells a family affected by disability, this is who we are. And we're here for your family for the long haul.
There are so many ways, obviously Joni and Friends can help you. But pray and take that first step.
Stephanie Daniels:
I love that. So, when they go look on that map, that's gonna lead them to a ministry relations manager?
Randy Schwartz:
Yeah. Or if there's not a ministry relations manager in your area, it'll lead you to a Joni and Friends office that's nearby. And that map exists on the same page that has all these resources and all of these links to find something as simple as a one-page resource for one specific area, or as big as entire books or courses. There's an embarrassment of riches is what I'll say.
Stephanie Daniels:
Oh, my goodness. Randy, this has just been so insightful and so encouraging. I love hearing your story. I love your salvation story. I love just how the Lord gave you dreams and spoke to you. I love hearing about Judah and Zion and the joy that they bring, and just your heart. Your heart is just so lovely. And so, thank you for joining us today on the podcast to share a little bit more about you.
Randy Schwartz:
Thank you. This was so fun.
Stephanie Daniels:
We hope this conversation touched your heart today. If it did, consider sharing it with someone who might be encouraged as well. And don’t forget to follow us on your favorite podcasting app so you never miss an episode. See you next week!
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