What My Son’s Disabilities Taught Me About Real Success
By Ken and Mary Sue
The day Jacob received his first five-dollar paycheck from Goodwill Industries, he held it like it was a hundred-dollar bill. His face lit up with the same pride we’d seen in Fortune 500 CEOs, and in that moment, we realized everything we thought we knew about success was completely wrong.
Jacob couldn’t hear, couldn’t speak clearly, and needed assistance to walk. Yet watching him celebrate that small paycheck with pure joy, we suddenly understood what Jesus meant when he said, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Jacob had something we’d lost in our pursuit of conventional success—the ability to find genuine fulfillment in simply doing his best.
The Award That Changed Everything
When Jacob received the regional Power of Work Award, we sat in that auditorium surrounded by other families celebrating their loved ones’ achievements. But something struck us as different about Jacob’s story. While others had overcome addiction or homelessness to find employment, Jacob had overcome the world’s assumption that he had nothing valuable to contribute.
Every morning, he’d struggle to get ready for work, his disabilities making simple tasks exhausting. Many days he didn’t feel like going, but he’d push through anyway. Not because he had to—his disability benefits would have supported him—but because work gave him purpose. He understood something profound: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).
His coworkers didn’t just admire his persistence; they were transformed by it. Here was someone who found joy in tasks they considered mundane, who celebrated small victories they’d stopped noticing. Jacob’s five-dollar paychecks taught everyone around him that worth isn’t measured by the size of your contribution, but by the heart you bring to it.
What Jacob Taught Us About Real Success
When Jacob was young, we exhausted ourselves trying to make him “normal.” Countless therapy sessions, medical appointments, and interventions—all aimed at helping him fit the world’s definition of success. But somewhere along the way, Jacob started teaching us instead.
He redefined winning when he cheered louder for his siblings’ soccer games than they did for themselves. He transformed our understanding of productivity when snapping green beans became less about finishing the task and more about being together. When his greatest joy each day became helping his sister take off her work shoes, we realized we’d been measuring the wrong things all along.
The phrase “it’s a good day” took on sacred meaning in our home. Not because everything went perfectly, but because we learned that real success comes from recognizing life as the gift it is, regardless of circumstances.
The Deeper Truth
Jacob never made a six-figure salary or earned advanced degrees. He never owned expensive things or achieved what society calls status. But he accomplished something far more significant—he taught everyone around him what it means to live with authentic purpose.
In a world obsessed with climbing ladders and accumulating achievements, Jacob showed us that real success might be found in the quiet moments of dignity, in perseverance without recognition, in bringing joy to ordinary tasks. He proved that the most profound accomplishments often happen in the spaces between what the world notices.
Our son didn’t overcome his disabilities to become successful. His disabilities became the very foundation of a success so deep and meaningful that it changed everyone who witnessed it. That’s not just inspiring—that’s revolutionary.
“But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong” (1 Corinthians 1:27).