Celebrating the Gifts of the Special Needs ParentSample

Day 5 – Laughter as the Tides Change

Laughter is the release valve on our emotions. It is the thing that shakes us out of our stupor and our stress. It brings a spark of light to the darkness. Laughter is the bubble in your soda, the fizzy moment in an otherwise still day. It keeps you paddling forward.

Our kids need to see the optimism in us. They need to know that the weight of the world and of them is not crushing. They need to see us shake it off when the car stalls or the air conditioner goes out or the new medication isn't ready when we pull up to the pharmacy drive-thru window. To laugh is not to take it lightly. To laugh is to rise above it.

When you catch yourself disoriented by your present circumstances because, no, this is not where you thought you (or your child) would be or how life would go, it’s easy to get disheartened. It is easy to lament what was or should have been and wonder how in the world things will ever be right again. It’s simpler to feel the changing of the tides, whatever they may be, and dig your heels in against the current. But this is when we are called to find freedom. The tides are always turning. And there are two ways to take the journey: feel the wind on your face or batten down the hatches. God calls us to joyful voyaging. 

So, turn your face to the wind and let it refresh you. Look ahead to the bend in the road with anticipation, not dread. Watch your child enter new phases, both easy and difficult, and see them for what they are, the next step in God’s plan to bring you and your family closer to Him. His is the gentle nudge at your back, moving you  forward. Smile when you feel it.