Will We Cling to God?
It’s here again.
The anniversary of the day my world turned upside down.
The birthday of our firstborn.
The day my heart swelled with a fierce, intense, permanent love.
The day my heart broke.
The day the doctor said, “There’s something wrong with your baby.”
That day is here again.
The anniversary of the decision my husband and I made 34 years ago. Would we cling to God when our newborn was life-flighted 750 miles away for surgery? Would we reach out to Him in our sorrow and pain? Or would we let go? By the grace of God, we chose to hang on. By the grace of God, our son lived. He still lives.
For that I am truly grateful.
God has taught me so much about clinging Him in the 34 years since the day our beautiful baby was born. Above all, He’s shown me this.
We face this choice as parents every single day of our children’s lives.
When we learn the surgery didn’t fix everything and more surgery is needed. When we ride in the ambulance beside our children and wonder if we’ll get there in time. When we watch the gurney holding our children disappear down a long hallway.
Will we cling to God?
When our children don’t progress as they should. When diagnosis follows diagnosis. When the treatments don’t work. When our children cry out in pain. When they stop eating.
Visit the Not Alone website at specialneedsparenting.net to read the rest of this post.
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By Jolene
Jolene Philo is the author of the Different Dream series for parents of kids with special needs. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. She’s also the creator and host of the Different Dream website. Sharing Love Abundantly With Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and at Amazon.
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Teri, I’m so glad to hear the post helped you realize what you’ve done and what remains to be done. Best wishes as you dig your way out. Thanks for subscribing! Jolene
Reading your post was tough as I went through the same thing 27 years ago June 17.
I’ve realized the one thing I have done and that is hang onto God, but I have not yet mourned the loss in our lives. I think hanging onto those feelings and the stress of caring for an adult with special needs is keeping me away from the world.
I’m planning on digging my way out. Thanks for your blog, it’s great and I just subscribed.
Teri