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

by John Van Sloten

Discover God's kingdom in the sacred space of caregivingIn 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.

180 pages, Paperback

Published October 27, 2026

About the author

John Van Sloten is a pastor, teacher and writer who lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. For the past 20 years he's been exploring a worldview that seeks to discern God's voice in all things: the Bible, the arts, sport, science, film, music, literature, history, mathematics, nature and human nature. John's first book, The Day Metallica Came to Church: Seeing the Everywhere God in Everything (Square Inch, August 2010), listened for God's whispers in pop culture. John's second book, Every Job a Parable; What Walmart Greeters, Nurses and Astronauts tell us about God (Navpress/Tyndale, June 2017), listens for God's words at work. John has been the recipient of two John Templeton Foundation grants, exploring the intersection of faith and science in the context of preaching, and currently writing his third book on God's revelation through the human body.

Reviews

[Rhea Crook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thy Tender Care is beautifully written, overflowing with love and compassion. It reminds us over and over again of our awesome loving God.
It opened my heart in countless ways and It is truly an inspiration. A beautiful love story.