My special guy is 19 years old! The transition to adulthood has been an unexpected and challenging journey. It has been such a huge life change that I've recently presented parent workshops on "How to Navigate the Transition to Adulthood" at several conferences for special needs parents, to warn them of the pitfalls ahead. One of the biggest pitfalls I see parents of adults fall into is actually one we all come across many times throughout our child's life, beginning the moment after we receive their diagnosis.
When the geneticist handed us the lab results, which showed conclusively that our son's chromosome 8p had duplicated itself and also had deletions, that was a moment where I definitely hit a wall in my faith. DNA can't change.
The next time I hit that wall was when he turned 5 years old. I had spent the "early intervention" years working as hard as I could, pushing all the therapies I could find because everything I read said that his brain wouldn't be mold-able after age 5. Brain development won’t continue.
There have been lots of other moments over these 19 years where my faith hit that same wall. "It's too late, science has spoken" is a lie from Satan. I know that believing this lie is a big deal because of all of the many miracles recorded in the Bible, the "it's too late" story line shows up over and over again!
Come with me for a moment and re-visit the story of Christ’s birth, because it is no accident that more than one “medical miracle” occurred for His arrival on earth.
In his explanation of Jesus’ arrival on earth, Luke starts with the birth of John the Baptist. He was born to two old people, who could not have children, according to science. We know that no detail listed in the Bible is pointless, so please pay attention to this one today. A woman whose body had never been able to conceive, was now exceedingly old and was officially beyond ever getting pregnant, was about to have a baby cousin for Jesus.
"But they were childless because Elizabeth was not able to conceive, and they were both very old." Luke 1:7
Then when the angel Gabriel went to deliver the news to the virgin, Mary, and she asked how it could be possible for her to become pregnant as a virgin, Gabriel told her about Elizabeth’s miracle.
“Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. For no word from God will ever fail.” Luke 1:36-37
I love two things about Luke’s re-telling of this story. First, that he makes note of the scientific and medical impossibility of it all. Second, that the way Gabriel bolstered Mary’s faith was to tell her about another medical miracle that had already been done in a similar situation. These two things indicate to me that God wants me to continue to believe that He can do anything for my son, no matter his age or diagnosis. They also indicate that God wants me to continue to tell the story of the healings we have already experienced in order to help others: the healing in my heart and emotions as well as the victory Nick has found in exceeding many of the expectations in his diagnosis.
And here is how that ties into my every day: hope is alive. In any situation where I believe that God can not move, there is no hope, no life. When I remind myself that God is "able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think..." I have hope. I keep pressing forward and live my life with expectation, anticipation and hope. Nick needs hope, and he needs a mom who brings hope into every parent meeting, therapy session and goal-setting conference.
Whether your child is 3 or 33, remind yourself this Christmas that there is always hope, there is always more and that God will continue to do new and glorious works as we seek Him and believe that He is able. Remember what God has already done, and share it with the world. If you can’t possibly think of one thing in your own four walls, then share the stories of Elizabeth and Mary this Christmas as you renew your own faith in the miracle worker.
Follow Melanie Gomez at https://redefinespecial.com and on Facebook.
