Wade in the Water
Angela
Denise Davis, M.Div., M.S., CRC
“My vocational waters run in two rivers, rehabilitation counseling and ministry.”
Those words fell quickly from my lips during a meeting at the U.S. Department
of Labor last week. I knew as I uttered them that I had said something special,
something that I should always remember.
In reflecting upon that moment, I think of the 20th century
poet, Elizabeth Bishop, who wrote a beautiful poem about the geographical
merging of two great rivers, the Tapajos and the Amazon. The poem is entitled
Santarém. Although I first encountered the poem several years ago, I still
remember the great emotion held by the speaker of the poem concerning the
beauty of that “watery, dazzling dialectic.” I look upon the merging of my
vocational rivers and am no less ecstatic than the poem’s speaker.
I feel as if I am pulling out from a harbor at the mouth of this joining
at the place where the currents crash into each other. It is a place of great energy
that demands a captain’s respect and attention.
Last week, I learned that I passed the national certifying exam for
rehabilitation counselors. I am officially a CRC! As a newly certified
rehabilitation counselor, I am excited about creating opportunities for persons
with disabilities to soulfully engage the world of work. I want to give VR
consumers better service that I received coming through the system. I have
never forgotten what my first VR counselor said to me. She lamented that it was
so sad that “most blind people ended up washing dishes.” I had just resigned
from my position at Vanderbilt Divinity School as the admissions director, and
was unsure of what my future held. I will never forget her words.
As an ordained minister, I am
interested in helping people think about how one’s theology informs the way he
or she perceives disability. This path is leaning me towards doctoral work in
the area of theology and ethics. I know that my work with IDAC (Interfaith
Disability Advocacy Coalition) with Ginny Thornburgh is opening new ground for
me to explore how some congregations are putting into practice an ethic of
liberation and compassion.
I wade into my vocational waters
with a great deal of respect and attention. I have never treaded this water before,
but I feel that a bright horizon is in view.
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