I believe, as Mothers, the greatest means through which God pulls us beyond ourselves and into a humbling understanding of our need for Him and the power of His love, is through our children.
But I also believe, as Mothers, the greatest weapon the enemy has to thwart our purpose is through our children.
“Making the decision to have a child — it’s momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.” -Elizabeth Stone
They serve as our greatest strength and our greatest weakness.
Submitted to God, our children are our strength. Holding on in tight control, they are our weakness.
Our children serve as our greatest strength and our greatest weakness #specialneeds #parenting #hope @sdgwords
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I’m a special needs parent. Mama to a little treasure whose needs go far beyond typical. As the years have unfolded and we hoped and prayed for progress that would point to a life of independence – a life resembling “typical” – we instead have come face-to-face with many truths we didn’t want to hear.
Time and again, I would feel fear rising up within my spirit.
How will we care for her? In 2 years? 5 years? 20 years?
How will we meet her needs?
What if she rebels against us?
Where will we turn for help?
What if something happened to us? Who could and would step in?
I’d recognize it by the pounding heart, roller-coaster emotions, and anxiety. Sometimes it ushered in restless nights filled with nightmares. While other times I simply wanted to sit in the middle of my pantry with a bag of potato chips and no interruptions.
Masked in many ways, it couldn’t hide. It was fear. Fear of what the future would bring for my child and for us as a family.
Often, it triggered a determination to conquer. Push hard. Seek more answers. More resources. More of everything.
I refused to acknowledge my limitations. I labeled my exhaustion as failure. The enemy whispered, “You’ll never be enough…”
I’d then land in a puddle of defeat. Wanting nothing more than to hide under the covers, I’d withdraw from the world.
The rest of our story along with 6 truths I cling to when battling the fear that accompanies not only being a special needs parent, but being any parent at all, is over at Jerusha Agen’s Fear Warrior Blog. I love her series on fear and how she shares stories inspiring others to kick fear to the curb! Friends, the truth is that our God is bigger than any obstacle rising before us. And with Him our victory is assured!
Featured #MomentsofHope Post
Our world has been pummeled by natural disaster after natural disaster in such a short amount of time. And as I wrote the above post about fear, these disasters combined with the threats and turmoil our country and world are facing, we are prime targets for fear to set up camp in the deepest parts of our souls. Places so deep we fail to realize the power it begins to have on our lives.
But friends, as believers in Christ, we need not fear. And that is exactly why I loved what Robin of Robinality shared as she recounted part of her experience as Hurricane Irma hit her home state of Florida.
The morning before Hurricane Irma was to hit Central Florida, I opened my devotional and read these words, “Peace in the Storm. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace.” Romans 15:13.
Robin goes on to give you strategies for claiming that peace amidst whatever storm you are facing. She gives you hope. And she gives you a weapon against fear!
When you stop by to soak in her moment of hope, please don’t forget to give her back some of that same kind of encouragement?
Does fear threaten your hope? Fear as a parent? A special needs parent? Adoptive parent? As a woman, friend, sister, or wife?
Does it stop you from pursuing your God-designed purpose and leave you living just short of victory?
Friends, it doesn’t have to. It takes intentional steps toward wiping out what the enemy throws at you. One of those steps is to fill your lives with the constant truth of the Word of God. After that, it’s committing to filling your mind as frequently as possible with positive, encouraging, and purposeful content. The world is a noisy place and much of it isn’t what makes us stronger. Much is what the enemy uses to pull us away from victory.
So, today I challenge you to that commitment. There are many places to turn for that positive content. One of them is right here. I’d love to have you join me as we keep our eyes on Jesus and the hope we find in Him! Subscribe below and you will not only get each update in your inbox (1-2 times per week), but my 2 time monthly newsletter with the inside scoop, and complete access to my resource filled Library of Hope!
Need #hope in the face of fear? Commit to filling your life with encouraging content to encourage and equip YOU to live a hope-filled life!
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#MomentsofHope Link-Up
Join us for the #MomentsofHope Link-Up! Share hope and be encouraged every Monday! #hope
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Each week I’ll be visiting as many posts as possible, sharing them to my Moments of Hope Group Board on Pinterest as well as my other social media platforms when applicable, and choosing one post each week to feature.
Thank you for joining me here each week to share the hope given to us through Christ. Whether your words come from a story that points to the full healing you have experienced in Christ, or its a story of the journey along the road to the healing you know He is working in you, it is giving hope to others. Your words matter and it honors me to have you share them here in this space!
What I ask of you:![#MomentsofHope Link-up; www.lorischumaker.com; Read, share, and together hope for tomorrow.]()
- Share up to 2 blog post URLs resonating with the topic of HOPE. That which gives us hope for tomorrow and hope for victory. The little things and the big that inspire us to lean into Jesus and let Him carry us through.
2.#MomentsofHope is a place to give and get hope, so let’s encourage others in their efforts to share the hope of Jesus. If you have time, stop by more than one sweet writer’s little corner of the blog world!
- Please either grab the #MomentsofHope button found here or link back to me. If you’ve been featured, grab your button here!
Finally, find me linking up with these encouraging places!
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