Today, I am pleased to introduce you to guest blogger Sharon Cargin. Sharon and I have been acquaintances since high school when she sat in front of me in Senior Comp. But we became forever friends when we became mothers of kids with special needs. In this post she tells how the chaos of special needs parenting drew her to God.

The Chaos of Special Needs Parenting

When my oldest son moved out into his own apartment before he got married, he told us it was very strange because he was used to controlled chaos. He grew up with a home schooling, stay-at-home mom and a hard-working carpenter for a dad, and three siblings, one of whom is severely disabled. It took the whole family working together to keep the household going. Tim, our disabled son, required complete care. He was either very sick, a little sick or just plain sick much of his life. We also were super involved at church. We did not have much money. It was often stressful. Life was often chaos.

Busy! Busy! Busy!

That brings me to a teaching I heard at church about Jesus’ birth from the perspective of Joseph. I had never thought about how Mary’s announcement of her pregnancy blew up Joseph’s whole world. All his dreams and plans were no more. In addition he had a whole set of new problems. Talk about chaos. Why did God plan this type of start for his son? What a complete mess! We do not hear much about Joseph after Jesus is born. He was a faithful simple carpenter obeying God.

I see the parallel in my life.

The birth of my handicapped son blew up my world. All my dreams and plans were no more. In addition I had a whole set of new problems. Chaos!

But Joseph’s son saved the world from their sins.

Is there hope when life blows up? Is there hope when your finite mind can see no way this event will ever be good and may never end? What if we look at Joseph’s life as an example when we are in the midst of chaos? He listened, believed God and obeyed.

His chaos changed the world.

When I look at the life of my handicapped son I can either see chaos and hopelessness, or I can see the wonder of his life. Tim’s chaos was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Chaos pushed me to turn to God and throw my arms up in surrender. From there, our whole family came to God.

How like God to show us he understands chaos.

He can take anything, anybody and any chaos and turn it into something beautiful. Our job is to be faithful, listen and obey God…like Joseph.

Chaos is often God’s pathway to himself.

The Chaos of Special Needs Parenting at Your House?

How did the chaos of special needs parenting change you? Share your story in the comment box below.

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