Yesterday, you met Amy Dunaway. She’s a mom who’s become an expert in the area of special needs homeschooling. In the previous post, she introduced her family and told about how her blog www.onajoyfuljourney.com came about. In Part 2 of our interview, she encourages parents to persevere as they raise their kids with special needs. Read on!
What advice do you have for families just beginning their special needs parenting and special needs homeschooling journeys?
Embrace the journey! What might seem disappointing or even tragic brings many blessings and a deeper knowledge of the love and saving grace our Lord and Savior. It has been said that God will never give you more than you can handle. My journey has shown me that He does – only to increase my dependence on Him and my capacity to know and reflect His love.
What is the number one lesson you’ve learned as a parent?
His grace is sufficient. How comforting that is when dealing with teenage angst, a child with special needs or grieving the loss of a child! I’ve been many places on my parenting journey. Places where friends and family withdrew from us because of their own weaknesses. The Lord is always there with His gentle embrace, never abandoning His children.
What else would you like readers to know?
There is pain and suffering on this earthly journey. No one escapes it. I don’t want to minimize the pain and suffering along the way. There are tears to be cried and grief to be resolved. It feels messy and ugly…and filled with hard work. I have found that if I look at the trials I have faced as holy ground, sometimes so weak that I could only be carried through the day by His grace and love; His light would continue to reach me. Cling to hope and hope never dies.
Let others walk alongside you on your journey. Many will want to be supportive and we must guide them in their role. Many will not know what to do or say so they may not do or say anything. Teach them how to support and love your family and forgive them when they fail by showing them the same grace that blankets our own lives.
Your Turn Now
Are you feeling encouraged? Did you learn something from Amy’s journey? What have you learned from your journey? Now’s your chance to share lessons you’ve learned as a parent. I can’t wait to hear from you.
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Amy,
Thanks so much for sharing a bit of your journey as a child of God as well as what I consider to be a ‘special’ parent. We were blessed to be able to home school all 4 of our children for 15 years. As we dealt with auditory and discrimination issues with one child, we also dealt with severe illnesses at different times in three of the four, so I understand your confidence in knowing our God is sufficient. It’s been 10 years since our last day of homeschooling and looking back I see how God used those years to mold all of us by strengthening our weak areas and developing our gifts. Blessings to your family and your ministry.
Kathy