Gò0dNews for Everyone
The Hidden Elevator by Chad Van De Griek
I
t was early Tuesday morning, and I was eagerly making
him down and asked if he could help me! Thankfully, he
my way to my first class of the day. It was the first week
knew exactly where I needed to go. There was an elevator
of my freshman year of college, and I was experiencing
on the outside of the building that was hidden behind some
every emotion that came with that. But, more than anything,
bushes! I would have never found it! With this newfound
I was excited to start this new season of life! However, my
information, I made my way onto the elevator, into the
excitement and eagerness quickly vanished as I made my
building, and to my class. I was late, I was exhausted, and I
way to the building that my class was scheduled to be in. I
was relieved!
was confronted by an obstacle that I wasn’t prepared for. I was told the building that my class was in had an accessible entrance, but I couldn’t find it. All I could see
This is one of those funny and thought-provoking stories that I love to look back on. Living with a disability has taught me a lot. One particularly difficult lesson is that I’m living in a world that wasn’t designed with people like me in mind. I am reminded of this reality when I look back on this story from freshman year and others like it. Buildings with stairs, stores with high shelves, and restrooms with narrow doorways are just a few of the many obstacles that I have to face. These are usually small inconveniences that I easily overcome. But there are some days or weeks where this simply isn’t the case. This week was one of those weeks. Physical pains and mental stressors made inconveniences feel insurmountable. On top of that, it can be difficult having conversations like this because I feel like people, even those that care deeply about me, don’t understand how it feels living in a world that isn’t
were stairs. I circled the building—no luck, just stairs. I was
built for them. All of these realities can leave me feeling
stranded outside of the building with no way in. I was in
isolated and unsure of where to turn, similar to how I felt on
a full-blown panic. On the verge of tears, I called my mom
that Tuesday morning.
to try to figure out what to do. She encouraged me to call
I can’t help but feel like some people are reading this
the Disability Services Office to see if they could help. I did,
who deeply resonate with my experiences. And if that’s
but I was so frazzled that any direction they gave added to
true, my hope is that I can be an encouraging voice that says
the confusion. I asked other students if they could help, but
that you are seen, loved, and not alone. Life is hard, and
that didn’t work either. More time went by as I continued
disabilities don’t make things any easier. We will encounter
to circle the building. But despite my best efforts, I was
obstacles that those around us won’t even see as obstacles.
clueless. Just when I was about to give up and head back to
But yet we fight on, we do our best, and we tell our stories.
was wearing a suit and holding a clipboard. As he passed by, I thought to myself, “Hey, he looks official!” I chased
52 // December 2021
About The Author
my dorm in defeat, I saw a man walking in my direction. He Chad Van De Griek lives in Nashville, TN! He loves Jesus, hockey (Go Preds), and is a big Bible nerd. Chad was born with Cerebral Palsy and is very passionate about using his writing as a way to show God’s love to everyone! You can find more of his writing at chadvandegriek.wordpress.com.
