I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Did you know that God never allows any difficulties into our lives just for our benefit only?  Over the years I’ve discovered that He allows hard times into our lives to deepen our faith, our trust in Him, and for the purpose of benefiting and blessing others as well.

“He comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, he brings us alongside someone else who is going through hard times so that we can be there for that person just as God was there for us” (2Cor.1:4 MSG).

When you are hurting and going through hard times you can turn to others in the family of God who face similiar circumstances for comfort, support, and encouragement.

It’s for this reason that I read a fair amount of blogs by other parents of children with special needs!  I follow some of these blogs on Facebook or Twitter.  I subscribe to some via email.  I even have my phone and iPad set up so I can quickly and easily access my favorite parent blogs!

• I read some of these blogs for information.
• I read some of them for inspiration.
• I read others because they are people I know in real life.
• And I read others just because I like their writing styles.

I certainly don’t read every blog on a daily basis… it just depends what I’m in the mood for and what’s happening in my life that day.  Here’s a few of the blogs that I turn to (and some of our other Not Alone writers!) when I need lifted up.  Take a few minutes to check each one of them out because you never know which one will be a great resource for you when you’re hurting.

• A Perfect Lily by Patti Rice. Patti has been married to her best friend, Sam, for 25-years.  They have ten beautiful children and also have four precious babies waiting for them in Heaven.  Patti is a stay at home with the children, homeschools, and pretends to clean the house!  Patti’s blog was started during the pregnancy of her tenth child, Lily Anne. Lily’s birth, diagnosis, and life have already made a profound impact on the Rice family and the lives of those around them.
• 60 Little Piggies by Michelle Peterson Selent.  Michelle’s been married to her best friend for the past 21 years. During their journey together they have been blessed to be the parents of four amazing sons.  They also fulfilled their dream of becoming adoptive parents as well, to two beautiful daughters, both with fetal alcohol syndrome. Being special needs parents has brought them many challenges and many gifts too.  Michelle adds, “I hope what I share on this blog in some way will help others feel a sense of genuine understanding and hope. I do my best to be authentic in good and bad moments.”
• Diving For Pearls by Katie Wetherbee. Katie and her husband, Tom, live in Chagrin Falls, OH with their two fabulous teenagers, and a quirky mutt named Mitzie.  Katie currently serves as the Special Needs Columnist for Children’s Ministry Magazine and she’s also a freelance writer.  Her articles have also appeared in K! Magazine, Northeast Ohio Family, and the MOPS International blog. Katie enjoys speaking at local and national conferences, and is always delighted to talk with parents of children with special needs and hear about their experiences; this is a journey that Katie shares from personal experience.
• Life With Jack is by Jessi Bennion.  Jessi’s a former director of a nonprofit who left her job when a very debilitating, but joyous pregnancy landed her flat on my back. What followed was the emergency c-section of my sweet Miracle Jack (23 weeks!), who she writes about. These days you will find Jessi at home in Montana with Jack (aka Jackpants, JackP, Jackman, SuperJack, Bubs), dabbling in blogging, photography, and trying to run the world.  The road of parenting a micropreemie is never easy, but it is oh so worth it. If you have a preemie or want to learn more about prematurity, Jessi welcomes you to stick around awhile.  Jack is pretty much the most special boy and she wants the world to know!
• Life With The Loraines by Erin Loraine.  Erin and her husband Larry met when they were 16 years old on a blind date. God has blessed them with 4 children. Clayton is 13, Evan is 10, our Ukrainian princess, Oksana, is 7, and our Bulgarian beauty, Anya, is 5. Oksana (Cerebral Palsy) came to our family in July of 2010 and Anya (Down Syndrome) came to us in October of 2012. They all keep us busy and they keep us  laughing! Larry and Erin are former missionaries with FamilyLife.  After 4 great years on staff serving from Little Rock, AR, God called them back “home” to Missouri to be near family as we raise the “Fab 4”!
• This Journey Our Life is by Rachel Cordeiro.  Rachel is a child of God, blessed wife and stay-at-home mom to three, the oldest of whom has a variety of needs surrounding her visual impairment (resulting from her severe prematurity), ASD, and mild intellectual disability.  She enjoys spending time with her family, playing piano duets in church with her husband, shopping, and writing.  Rachel can never say no to a cup of coffee and she has just a tiny obsession with shoes!  She blogs and shares her personal journey of special needs parenting, encouraging others who find themselves on a similar path.
• The Works of God by John Knight.  John is married to Dianne and together they parent their four children: Paul, Hannah, Daniel and Johnny.  Paul lives with multiple disabilities including blindness, autism, cognitive impairments and a seizure disorder. John blogs on issues of disability, the Bible and the church.

I realize I’m leaving lots of other parent-blogs out — my intentions are not to hurt anyone’s feelings. There are dozens of amazing parents who are blogging out there and I frequently read through many other blogs that are not on my list above.

However, since I’m trying to keep things simple, I decided to only share my “top 7″.

Do you have any others you’d like to share with me and our other readers?

—Michael Woods