Celebrating the Gifts of the Special Needs ParentSample

Day 6 – Thankfulness for Present Circumstances

Unlike adults, kids have an easier connection to the world’s wonders and, if they are believers, to Jesus. They believe in their own superpowers, and they believe Jesus is the biggest superhero of all because they are great at marveling at His creation and His creatures and that last veggie straw when they thought they were done. Everything is miraculous. It’s why, when they spot that penny in the parking lot, they truly believe it was put there for them. They have a faith that can accommodate both logic and mystery. To them, both the weird and wonderful make sense, and so, to believe in Jesus working in their everyday lives does not mean they have to give up rational thought. As their parents, of course, we are bound to logic first. We have years to sift through and hold up to the light for reexamination. 

We have enough trouble fighting for our attention today: trouble with the therapy our child refuses to attend or the friend who doesn't understand our home situation or the battle we wage to find time for our spouses, much less ourselves. But the key is to turn toward the good, the serendipitous moment, so that it can help us find something to be thankful for, whether that be the moment of connection with another parent in the parking lot, the new doctor with the new ideas, the good meal, or the good book at the end of the day. There’s always something. 

What if you could live this way a little more? What if, like your kids, you could replace worry with curiosity? It could make you thankful for almost anything. You are called to live with hopeful purpose right here and right now. God can give you this. If you practice walking through each day with a sense of thankfulness, no matter what comes, there is no end to your delight and the transcending peace God will bring because He will bring it. You are assured of that with the promise of heaven and you can revel in it.