Beautifully Broken- A Study For Special Needs ParentsExemplo

Properly placed hope

We've  all experienced dashed and misplaced hopes. It's devastating. We don't just have hopes for our kids, we have hopes for ourselves. Some of our hopes are simple and realistic, easily possible, yet nothing worthwhile seems to come from our hope filled desires. I think special needs parents have a deeper well of dashed hopes than most. And dashed hopes make us feel defenseless, weary, unseen & overlooked, maybe even unloved. 

But the hopes we want are different from the hope God desires we develop. We are encouraged to have solid, steady hope in our Heavenly Father that is as sure as the daily rising of the sun! Our circumstances change, our Creator does not.
We cannot be strong on our own. Putting our hope in God will give us His  strength, His help, His protection, and puts us in the circle of His unfailing love for us. You want your children to know you can be trusted to provide support and comfort in their time of need. You want them to come to you, to be their soft place to land when they need reassurance. So, too, our heavenly Father wants to be our comfort and soft place to land. He wants us to run to Him in our pain, anxiety, and fear. In our weaknesses, our dashed hopes and dreams, God says He can still be trusted. We can depend on Him to make us strong.

The deepest roots recorded for a tree belong to the Wild Fig growing in  Mpumalamga, South Africa. The harsh, arid climate has forced this tree to tunnel 400 ft deep (that's the length of a rugby field!) into the rocky soil to find it's life sustaining nourishment. For strength and for survival, the tree endures the harsh life surrounding it by being deeply rooted. It's a lesson for the Christian life.
Shallow roots are the easy route. They reach out under the surface, a network of intertwined seekers. But they aren't putting in the hard work of digging deep to find the source of survival. They take what little they can get and are satisfied with the nourishment they find. But that nourishment isn't enough for sustainability when the angry assaults of brutal daily life beat it down.

Life is going to dish out harsh moments, strong storms, doubts and droughts. But as Paul says in Ephesians 3:17-"I pray your roots will grow down deep into God's love and keep you strong." It is the only way we can endure our environment. Strong roots make a strong tree.  Without being deeply rooted we risk an upheaval when circumstances are out of our control. It will be too easy to get knocked down by life's difficulties and disappointments. When we nourish ourselves on God's word, trust that He loves us, He will grow us strong and full of hope, that will branch out and reach others with our faith. Your life reaches out and touches others no matter where you are planted. Are you growing shallow roots and weak branches or deeply watered roots that will weather the storms?

Reflection:

What happens to a tree if it's roots don't stretch down deep enough to get nourishing water from the bedrock?

God's power is more fully on display when you depend on Him. How can this knowledge change how you view your weaknesses?