“Raising a child with special needs is like writing a book,” I thought after emailing my completed manuscript to my editor recently. “During my pregnancy I had a vague outline of what parenthood would be like. And I prepared a plot outline before writing this story. But in the beginning, the details of the birth and the book were foggy and surprising.”

The first surprise regarding our son came twelve hours after his birth. He was diagnosed with a tracheoesophageal fistula, also known as EA/TEF, and flown to a hospital far, far away for corrective surgery.

Boom! My husband and I became supporting characters in our son’s adventure story. It was full of unexpected setbacks, victories, sorrow, and joy.

We went places we never imagined.
We made decisions we felt unprepared to make.
We met people who helped us along the way.
We discovered we were stronger than we knew.
We found the source of that strength in God’s faithful presence throughout the story.

Our son is forty now. At my aunt’s funeral a few months ago, he put his arm around me while I cried. He gives my husband and me advice. His story is ongoing. As we age, he will play a role in our stories, too.

Every day I see that raising a child with special needs is like writing a book.

Forty years after our son’s story began and a few days after sending that manuscript to the editor, I am once again in a situation similar to my son’s early days.

To read the rest of Raising a Child with Special Needs is Like Writing a Book, please visit the Key Ministry website.

Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the monthly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email.