“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” ~Psalms 73:26
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 had reached that point where the stressors of raising a child with special needs, dealing with my own health issues and other factors led to that moment of brokenness.
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. Do you know what I mean? As a parent and a caregiver, it is not uncommon to feel this way. You have so many stressors coming on you from what seems like every direction. Believe me, I get it.
I recently read the following from Craig Groeschel’s You Version “Hope in the Dark” plan,
“The world may seem upside down, but the Lord is still there.
When you have nowhere else to turn, when your own ideas and resources have evaporated, when your control over a situation is in shambles, God is still there. When your knees ache from kneeling in prayer but you can’t tell if he’s even listening, God is still there.
No matter what happens in your life, the Lord is in his holy temple.”
The word pictures that Pastor Craig used so fittingly describe the parent’s journey in special needs and disabilities. Our worlds do often seem upside down, resources seem to evaporate before our eyes and it often seems like we have no control.
I love his conclusion though. God is still there.
When your health fails, and your spirit grows weak, don’t give up. On those days when you don’t know how you are going to pay for specific therapies or house modifications, you don’t feel like you can face the stressors of the coming holidays or you are scared to think about your child’s future: be encouraged, God is still there.
Jonathan McGuire is the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here. Hope Anew has launched the Hope Anew Online Community and would love to have you be a part of it! You can learn more at www.HopeAnew.com.
