Celebrating the Gifts of the Special Needs ParentSample

Day 1 – Determination as You Overcome Guilt

When you have a child who does not skip along the milestones like the rest, the responsibility falls on you to help direct them down the path, and when you stop to rest, it can feel as though you're hitting the pause button on their progress. And even though you know that thought is probably ridiculous, the thought alone is too much pressure. We can't do everything. We aren't God after all. Which, of course, is the point and the only belief that will give relief. We aren't God and so we're going to falter and we're going to need rest and we're going to let our kids down, like any other human or parent. The guilt will come, of course, but it doesn't have to last. It doesn't have to be the drumbeat of your heart. If you can shed this feeling, like an unnecessary layer of clothes, it can be your greatest strength and freedom. 

Our different can be good. Our different can be a testament, not just to triumphing over hardship (which is what we hear all the time from those who cannot fathom our situation), but to actually embracing the hardship. It has made our children special in all the good ways. We are set apart, and there need be no guilt or shame in that. God doesn't want you to live in the land of what-ifs. He wants you to see that you can trust Him to take care of the past, present, and future for your family and your own trembling heart as you try to parent as best you can. So know that. Embrace it. Stop the condemnation. And walk in the power of knowing that you aren’t blamed;  you are chosen. You aren’t punished;  you are set apart. Live in that power.