suffering

The Mission Field Next Door: Meeting The Desperate Needs of Special Needs Families

The Mission Field Next Door: Meeting The Desperate Needs of Special Needs Families

I once served as a volunteer missionary for nearly 2 years and as a missionary, I was willing to do whatever was asked of me. I often sit in church and listen to the different mission programs, especially short work trips and wonder why? Why do we raise thousands of dollars to send courageous, self-sacrificing individuals to visit far off lands in the name of Jesus when there are so many we neglect in our own communities? We need the Church to be the hands and feet of that powerful calling we claim as Christianity. Outside of the church walls. It might be time to get our hands dirty.

When You Find Yourself Asking God “Why?”

When You Find Yourself Asking God “Why?”

After months of pleading these questions and God not giving me an answer, I experienced a crisis of faith that scared me. Was God a good God? Was God even real? If He was, surely He'd be answering my questions and my prayers, right? One day while journaling my struggles, sorrows, complaints and whys, I felt strongly that God was telling me I was asking the wrong question.

When The Doctor Can't Fix Your Child

When The Doctor Can't Fix Your Child

No one can prepare you for what it’s like to be a witness of the continued struggle in your child, just to survive. There’s no chapter on that in the pregnancy books. There’s no guidebook for how to be a parent of the suffering. Or is there?

How Caregiving Grows Friendship and Builds Trust

How Caregiving Grows Friendship and Builds Trust

Being a special needs parent and serving in disability ministry has changed how I approach relationships. For example, disability teaches me benefits of slowing down, and trusting deeply, including the treasure of trusting God. But I’m also reminded me that serving in disability ministry is much like serving in a mission field. We learn how relationships were meant to be lived.

God, Why Did You Fail Me?

God, Why Did You Fail Me?

I had grand dreams of the ministry work we would do. The reality of life was a far cry from that, which led to a crisis of faith. In the process of questioning and wrestling with God, I got to know Him better—for Himself, as He truly is, not as I had been taught, but Him.