Loneliness. Every school day of my childhood I saw it written on Dad's face when Mom, my siblings, and I hurried out the door. Even now, I close my eyes and can see him sitting in his wheelchair at the kitchen table, sipping coffee through a straw and waving good-bye. His grin couldn't hide his dread of spending another day with only the television to keep him company. In fact, Dad's face came … [Read more...]
God’s Enabling Grace for Parents of Kids with Special Needs
God's enabling grace wasn't what my husband and I expected to see when we attended Dr. Paul Tripp's marriage video series, What Did You Expect?, at our church. After all, we reassured one another, we weren't attending to shore up our marriage. But as part of the research for my new book for special needs families that includes a marriage component. As you might expect, the Holy Spirit used the … [Read more...]
God Is With Us on the Way to Bethlehem
A few short days after Christmas, my daughter will serve as chauffeur to what we both hope will be my final doctor's appointment since breaking my foot almost 3 months ago. While we are both excited to hear that I can resume driving and other duties she's taken on during my convalescence, we're also apprehensive about the 30 mile drive to the hospital and clinic. Because my daughter is, as the … [Read more...]
When Disability Reveals the Depths of My Dependence
This year, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner in a wheelchair. Not to raise funds for my favorite disability organization. Not as a show of solidarity with my friends who get around in wheelchairs. Not in memory of my father, who used a wheelchair to get around for 38 years. No, I cooked Thanksgiving dinner in a wheelchair because I'm clumsy. So clumsy that I fell getting out of the car, … [Read more...]
Just As I Am
I was not a fan of Billy Graham as a child. My dislike had nothing to do with him or his message. Rather, it had everything to do with the disruption his televised crusades brought to our family's TV viewing schedule. Mom, a school teacher who wanted her kids to be active readers and not passive consumers, controlled how much television we watched at our house. However, she granted Dad control of … [Read more...]
How’s Special Needs Parenting Working for You?
In May of 2016, our daughter, her husband, and their one-year-old son moved in with my husband and me. Not for a few weeks or months until they found their own place to live. But permanently. Forever. As in, we are here to assist them while they raise their family, and they'll be our caretakers when we can no longer care for ourselves. When people hear about the arrangement—even though we … [Read more...]