Trying something new

Last week something wonderful happened. I was on a visit with a woman who had a particular block: she didn't address people by their names. I'll call her Jane. Ironically, I'm not going to say her name on this blog because of privacy. Jane knew other people's names, and when they weren't in the room, she could even say their names, but in front of them, she didn't do this. She'd say "Hi". She had a reputation that way, people didn't expect her to say their names anymore, and as someone new came in, it was talked about in front of her that she couldn't do this.
I'd been practicing with her. I'd say "Hi, Jane!" , and asked her if she would say "Hi, Art!", mostly she laughed at me. I laughed, too, very funny. Then last week we were sitting together, and I said "Hi, Jane!", she smiled and said "Hi, Art!" Other people in the room gasped, then we all laughed and applauded her.
I like to test the reputation that other people give to people with labels of disabilities. "They can't", "they never do", and "they never will" are not words that I take for gospel. Yeah, I have assessments, and those are useful to a point for describing someone's needs and planning for their support. But that's not who they are. Who are they? Who am I? Who are you? Paul , in the Bible, wrote that "We are God's artistry, created for good works in Christ, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them (Ephesians 2:10)."
I like to find out who people are by seeing something good in them, and trying something good together. With Jane, we got started by calling each other by our names.