“As I connect with Christian families impacted by disabilities, I’ve heard the same stories repeated over and over again. Stories of hurt and frustration over words spoken and looks given within the walls of our churches. Stories of the desire to be a part of a church family, but seeing hurdles that just seem too big to overcome.” Cortney Jenkins gives five tips to talk to your church about accessibility.
Moms: When Do We Get to Celebrate? Celebration for moms is scheduled in May; but I’m wondering when does it really happen? Cindi Ferrini writes about Mother’s Day and how to celebrate moms to kids with special needs.
Evana Sandusky writes about her experience receiving correction as a special needs mother, and explains why gentle correction may be more important than we think.
Joel Sheagren writes on the intersection of his 30-year career in film-making and his parenting journey, as he parents a son with FASD.
What DO you do when a child works harder to escape a room than he does work the puzzles at the table? How can you possibly know where the boundaries should be with a child who inherently has none? Where is the line between nurturing and structure? While there aren’t clear answers to these questions, there IS clear theology about our family’s place in the Body of Christ. Sherri Wirt writes a short devotional for special needs parents that feel they don’t fit at church.
One year after the pandemic began, there is still a great amount of fear and uncertainty involved in our daily lives. Reflecting on 2020, there were so many days and weeks that led me feel completely abandoned by God. So having ‘faith’ in God may seem like shallow words, when one is dealing with intense crisis and pain. But one thing that has helped me have faith is to reflect on those times when God showed up, even when I didn’t expect Him to. I had such an experience recently, where I found myself in a familiar place, having my faith tested very much as it has been in the past.
The orchard was heady fare for a midwesterner eager to escape an Iowa winter for a week. I walked around in shirtsleeves and sandals, admiring trees laden with yellow and orange fruit. I breathed in the tang of fresh citrus. Even so, part of me was ready to return home and resume interviews with parents raising kids with special needs and disabilities for a book proposal about stress and compassion fatigue in caregiver. Talking to these families, on the phone or in video chats, has been as sharp and delicious as an orange eaten in a citrus grove.
This post is for all my fellow veteran special needs parents, those of us who’ve been doing this for a little while and are finding a groove that works. There is a danger in being really good at our journey. The danger is that we forget to be wholly dependent on the Lord, His spirit and His leading in our choices, plans and decisions.
