in the tale of the burning bush, moses is tasked by god to free the children of israel from bondage in egypt. during moses’ conversation with god, there is the following exchange:
moses said to the lord, “i beseech you, o lord. i am not a man of words, neither from yesterday nor from the day before yesterday, nor from the time you have spoken to your servant, for i am heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue.” but the lord said to him, “who gave man a mouth, or who makes [one] dumb or deaf or seeing or blind? is it not i, the lord? exodus 4:1–11.
the torah documents god’s ownership of all of the humanity he created. these disabled are just as much a part of god’s creation plan as everyone else. the consequences are dire when this principal is not appreciated. history tells us that societies have practiced euthanasia throughout history.
with that said, this blog post is to congratulate mr. chris nikic.
irrespective of his disability, mr. nikic accomplished something that most individuals in the united states could not do. he competed in and finished an ironman triathalon. a triathalon involves a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a 26.2-marathon run. mr. nikic has down syndrome.
down syndrome is a condition in which a person has an extra chromosome. this extra copy changes how the baby’s body and brain develop, which can cause both mental and physical challenges for the baby.
even though people with down syndrome might act and look similar, each person has different abilities. people with down syndrome usually have an iq (a measure of intelligence) in the mildly-to-moderately low range and are slower to speak than other children. the condition has comes with physical features that can impact athletic performance such as small hands and feet, poor muscle tone or loose joints and shorter heights than normal. cd
mr. chris nikic did not do this alone. he partnered with his father. “nikic and his father nik developed the “1 percent better challenge” to stay motivated during training. the idea is to promote down syndrome awareness while achieving 1% improvement each day, according to nikic’s website.” to chris, this race was more than just a finish line and celebration of victory,” nik nikic said. “ironman has served as his platform to become one step closer to his goal of living a life of inclusion and leadership.”” cnn.
it is interesting to note that mr. nikic used his ironman triumph as his platform to become one step closer to living a life of inclusion and leadership. as the burning bush episode shows. mr. nikic is on the right track.
the torah tells how god chose a disabled person to be his spokesman for one of the most important historical events. god has made clear that the disabled are part of creation of humanity and play an important role. .
with moses, god partnered him with his brother aaron to take on his task. with mr. nikic, he partnered with his father to assist in accomplishing his amazing feat.
i hope we hear more about mr. nikic in the future.
be well!
The Ten Commandments Project 