I’m fearful you may think that this blog post communicates that we are supposed to gloss over all the pain and grief in life, when I say “it is well with my soul.” But that is not the message. Learn what Horatio Spafford meant, and what I really mean when I say those six little words.
In one of our workshops, I ask the participants what their breaking point is and go on to share about a time when I had personally reached my breaking point. I find myself reflecting back on this moment, as I am again struggling with health issues and hovering on the brink of exhaustion, and vacillating between hopeful and overwhelmed as I consider all that needs to be done in so many areas of life.
I love the holidays, but for many families the holidays can be a sad time, as they grieve loved ones who have been lost, relationships that have been severed or other difficult situations. For families with children impacted by disability, this can also be a difficult time.
Except for posters on 9/11 saying “We Will Remember,” life has returned to normal for those who were not directly impacted. For those of us with a child impacted by disability, there is another date that is cemented in our minds. We each have our own twin towers moment, that moment when our world came crashing down.
As a husband and a father, I implore you to take time for self-care now. Don’t wait until it is too late. Your family and your child need you there for the long term. Please take that time, even if it is only five minutes a day.
An older woman shared with us that through the process of raising her special-needs son, she became broken. Her old self died. She was no longer the same woman that she used to be. While there was a death of her old self, the person she has become is so much more.
Have you ever felt like you could not go on and that it was all you could do to take one more step? It is easy to get bogged down in the day to day. If this is where you are, I want to encourage you to stop and look back at where you have been.
You won’t be able to dream and plan for the future until you can manage the stressors of today. Here are four things you can do that will help with your stress level.
When we were in the worst of the pain of parenting our child with special needs, I would have struggled to personally share how there was meaning and purpose in this journey of disability. But I now have an intimate knowledge of what it means to be helpless and broken. God has already used this young man to accomplish so much, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that God still has much more that He is going to accomplish through him.
Lack of sleep is pretty common for those of us who have children impacted by disability. Stressful days are often the norm as well. It can be hard to stay positive throughout the day as we interact with therapists, teachers, doctors and, most importantly, our families. It can be easy for our speech to become short and have a bite to it as opposed to filled with grace and love.
In those times, taking a step back to pray, reflect, and breathe can be the perfect answer.
As parents of children who are impacted by additional needs, we often neglect our own emotional, physical, and spiritual health. Are there areas that you are burying? Who can you find that will allow you to safely take your mask off so you can begin to experience healing?
The future… How can two ambiguous words be so scary? These two words will strike fear in the heart of the most stout parent of a child with additional needs.
Here are some practical steps you can take when you find yourself helping your child work through an unexpected change:
Key Ministry’s spring group study: Hope & Healing for Special-Needs Parents, an Online Course with Hope Anew
How can we prepare our children for change when we know it is coming? Here are several steps you can take to decrease anxiety.
I want you to give yourself permission to look after you and do some things you enjoy without feeling guilty. Our tendency is to always focus on our children and their needs but if we don’t take care of ourselves, we won’t be there for the long haul with our children.
Many of us have had to give up Christmas traditions we grew up with due to the needs of a child, and that is okay—we would do it again in a heartbeat—but there can be a grieving process. Jonathan has encouragement if that’s you this season.
Listening is like any skill. It takes practice. Here are some tips to improve your listening skills to help those you are coming alongside feel heard.
Jonathan shares practical ways to bless a special-needs family
Christ set an example for us in how he cared for Himself. When we look back at His time on earth, we can see Him taking time to get away to pray, setting boundaries, seeking companionship from those who were close to Him during difficult times, and resting.
What significant event is impacting your life and family right now? What in your life indicates that it may be impacting you personally on a physical, emotional or spiritual level?
When you brush into people and they ask how you are, do you struggle with knowing what to say? Are you struggling with unexplained mood swings, constant exhaustion? Maybe you too are wondering if God’s promises are true?
Today I am celebrating you and I hold you up to the ultimate Father … praying that He meets you where you are at.