How many of us counted the cost (both emotionally and financially) of what it would take to raise a child and/or care for an aging parent? Many are doing both…Because we love our child, we don’t often consider the cost because we simply do what is needed and want the best for them.
My daughter arrived in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in the middle of the night on the eve of Thanksgiving. A tough respiratory virus attacked her lungs, and she needed a substantial amount of oxygen support. And now, this unexpected illness meant Thanksgiving was going to be completely different than we had all planned.
Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this?
I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.
Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?
The first time the engine-shaped glowing light appeared on my car’s display, I took notice. But over time, I learned to ignore the light all together, until my car suddenly needed a new transmission. Parenting a child with special and medical needs has triggered all sorts of “warning lights” in my brain and body. Here’s how I learned to deal with these warning lights in healthy ways.
God has used what I have learned about and experienced with special needs and disabilities to great good. He's empowered me to write books to encourage and equip parents, provide special needs ministry training, facilitate support groups, and more. But sometimes that same knowledge and experience results in thought patterns that lead to excessive and obsessive worry that steals my joy.
