Downloadable Retreats to Strengthen Your Marriage and Special Needs Family
On a beautiful spring day in May of 1991, I walked down the aisle to marry my Jeff. We had met one year earlier, shortly after I had graduated from college, and we knew right away that we were each other’s “forever love”. Within 3 months, we were engaged and a few months later we were getting married.
Standing in front of hundreds of our family members and friends, we promised that from that day forward we would love each other… for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, and that we would love and cherish each other until we were parted by death.
We were 23 and 24, and we could not begin to comprehend the way those vows would be tested over our 26 years of marriage. From the loss of our first child through a traumatic miscarriage, to raising our son with profound special needs, and later through Jeff’s significant health issues, we faced more trials than we could have then imagined.
Following our son Jon Alex’s birth, we struggled to navigate our new life as special needs parents. I did what many moms do after a diagnosis and threw myself into researching ways to help our son. Jeff, on the other hand, did what many fathers often do. He could not “fix” our son so he threw himself into the arena where he excelled: his job. We found ourselves at odds over treatment and therapy options for our son. We were exhausted due to our son’s sleep issues and often found ourselves falling into the pit of despair as we tried to our maneuver through our new normal.
As time went on, we found ways to communicate how we were feeling. We came to a place of acceptance and believed deep in our souls that our son was wonderfully made and created for a plan and purpose. Instead of allowing the hardships and trials we faced to tear us apart, we purposed in our hearts to allow them to draw us closer together. My life with Jeff did not look the way we envisioned it would on that beautiful spring day when we said our vows to one another. But through it all, we remained faithful to the promises we made to each other, and loved each other well until we were parted by death. It was an earth shattering loss when in May of 2017, my sweet Jeff passed away, leaving me a widow and our son without a dad. I have been a solo parent to our son for almost three years now. I never dreamed I would be caring for our son and making decisions regarding his care on my own.
Jeff and Becky Davidson doing life together.
When Jeff and I started Rising Above in 2005, we both knew that encouraging married couples raising children with special needs had to be an integral part of our mission. We started the Two-Gether Marriage Conference to address the unique needs of couples raising a child with a disability. We are now able to offer these conferences as downloadable retreats to strengthen your marriage and special needs family. You can do the retreat with your spouse in the comfort of your own home. My hope is that this conference will encourage couples who might be facing overwhelming circumstances to see that it is possible to move toward each other and come together to face whatever life may bring. You can find this conference and other resources at our website, Rising Above Ministries.
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By Becky Davidson
Becky Davidson is the co-founder and president of Rising Above Ministries, a multi-dimensional outreach to families impacted by special needs. She took on her role at Rising Above after the death of her husband, Jeff Davidson. She is passionate about supporting and encouraging special needs families and encouraging women through her platform at Redefine This Life. Becky and Jon Alex, her adult son with special needs, live and thrive in Cookeville, Tennessee. To get to know Jeff through more of his writings, check out the book he wrote with Becky, Ordinary Man, Extraordinary Call.
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My hubby & I adopted 2 boys from Guatemala- indicating that we’d prefer no special needs (I thought I’d be doing well to raise a typical child, let alone someone with special needs!!) Well, God overrode that preference and we were blessed with 2 six month old boys- not bios. Over time their diagnoses evolved, and now as teens they are each on the autism spectrum. Between the two, I think we have almost all co-morbid conditions covered as well. Soooooo, most of the past 15 years has been navigating their lives, not ours. It would be awesome to be able to participate, as we have no family in town or anyone who could really care for them for a period of time (medications, behaviors, etc.) But we DO have a garage apartment, and could sneak away periodically to do the conference material. It would be great!!!…..
My husband and I have four children, our two youngest are twin 10 year old boys with autism and apraxia of speech. We treasure our relationship with Jesus. He’s the anchor of our marriage, the Cornerstone of our home and the sure hope of redemption.
As we continue to minister to other couples and families affected by special needs in our community, this would be a great way to build in to our relationship, as well.
I go on retreats by myself but this could be interesting to do a retreat with my husband.
My husband and I have two daughters ages 18 and 21 with special needs. It can be very draining, so anything to encourage and help us in our marriage is welcome!
We have 3 children. We lost our son A. 9 years ago to STUPID cancer when he was 21 months old. We had two girls after he died. J. Is 7.5 and is neruotypical but has been diagnosed with NF1 which may or may not have a big effect on her life. She seems to get upset easily and I don’t know yet if it is her being 7.5 or something elSe. Our 3rs daughter E. Has Down syndrome. She had OHS when she was a baby but is doing great there. She is non verbal still and not potty trained yet. Overall she is good but does have some behaviors like flopping when she doesn’t want to do something or throwing things when she is all done with them
We have been married for 13 years and could definitely use a boost!
What a blessing it would be to win, we have 3 kiddos, and 2 of them have the neuromuscular disease, SMA. They require so much support, and we still can only truly rely on the grandparents to care for them. It would be a lovely change of pace to invest in our marriage.
I would love to win a downloadable retreat. My husband and I have an amazing son with special needs and health issues along with two other beautiful children we adopted. We cannot do a getaway due to our circumstances. Our marriage could use some TLC! Thanks.
This downloadable retreat would be such a blessing right now. My husband and I are really struggling in many areas.
My husband and I have a 21 year old son with special needs. He was diagnosed with a debilitating illness when he was 13 months old that resulted in kidney failure, cerebral palsy, and significant cognitive disabilities. Though we were advised to institutionalize him, we cared for him at home and he has made incredible gains. Because of the complexity of our son’s issues, it has always been difficult finding others to care for him so the two of us could get some time away. As he’s gotten older, it hasn’t gotten any easier. We currently have no one we can leave him with overnight. Not a complaint, but a reality. Our “date” time is lunch on Friday afternoons. A downloadable retreat is one we might actually be able to attend.
I’d love to win! Always looking for resources to strengthen our marriage.