Thy Tender Care: What Caregiving and Disability Can Teach Us about the Kingdom of God

Discover God's kingdom in the sacred space of caregiving

In this intimate portrait of parenthood, a driven father discovers the life-transforming presence of God through his relationship with his son Edward, a young man with Down syndrome who is also nonverbal. Much like the parables Jesus told, their shared moments become windows into a deeper reality where weakness becomes strength, difference brings life, and love speaks clearly even when there are no words.

Author John Van Sloten invites readers to see how God chooses the ordinary to unveil the divine. In the same way creation "speaks for itself," routine experiences with Edward become God-stories--small epiphanies that form a larger vision of who God is and how God meets us. The assembled image offers fresh ways of seeing disability and divinity.

Whether you are a caregiver, a parent, or simply someone longing for a deeper understanding of God, Thy Tender Care will resonate with the beauty and ache of giving oneself for another. Through a father's tender story of his son's unfiltered presence, you may find your own assumptions about control, success, and identity gently undone. In the mysterious and all-inclusive kingdom of God, relationship and caregiving are not sacrifices but invitations into sacred space.

John Van Sloten is a writer, teacher, and community theologian. He is the author of several books: The Day Metallica Came to Church looks for glimpses of God in pop culture; Every Job a Parable listens for God's words at work; and God Speaks Science unpacks God's revelation through the physical creation. God Speaks Sciencewon a TGC 2023 Award of Distinction and was given an honorable mention for 2023 Book of the Year by World Magazine.

Van Sloten is a regular columnist for the Calgary Herald/National Post and is a Sinai and Synapses (alumnus) fellow. He's been the recipient of several John Templeton Foundation subgrants exploring the intersection of faith and science. He has been married to his wife Fran for 43 years and has three children.