In honor of Mothers' Day, I wanted to share a bit about being mother to a special needs child. I speak only for myself for everybody's journey is different, even when the children do not have special needs.
My life passage is John 9:1-3. I discovered it right after we discovered Joey's autism.
The disciples wanted to find somebody to blame for a man being born blind. Jesus would not let them. He said the man was born blind to bring glory to God.
I have clung to that truth for almost thirty years. Through the ups and downs of autism, which we sometimes share and sometimes do not, I have believed that the ultimate glory will go to God. The slow upward trajectory of Joey's growth has shown that. When we started we could not have foreseen him having his own apartment, roommate, job, church, and walkable small town where he does not need to drive.
We also know he is saved. He cares deeply about spiritual things. He can be emotionally overwhelmed and forget all that, but those times are getting fewer and fewer. I am 100% sure I will see my son in eternity and that is the biggest blessing of all!
Not everybody in life is helpful. We know that. My dad helped immensely by figuring out immediately that Joey always needed a choice. If you told him you were taking him to Burger King for breakfast, he would resist, even though he loves Burger King. But if you gave him a choice between Burger King and McDonalds, he would happily choose, and trot along to Burger King!
Others had opinions about Joey but I learned to judge those opinions by how close in the person was to us. People with autism are as different from each other as the rest of us. So someone who did not know Joey telling me what worked for their grandchild was not necessarily helpful. People selling supplements would always believe their supplements helped Joey, too. They were sincere but after trying a few supplements, I realized that autism is a puzzle to all of us. There are probably no quick fixes.
People who were actually willing to invest their time in our lives were worth their weight in gold. Joey's AWANA leaders come readily to mind (I am looking at you, Terri O'Hara and Hal Wintemberg). Sunday school teachers and teachers from the year we tried Joey at the Academy pop to mind, too. All of you who joined us at Joey's high school completion ceremony and dinner at the church, when my family came from out of town to mark that milestone with him, let us know you cared enough to take time from your busy schedule for us. Art and Connie Roberson catered a delicious meal for us all.
Then Pastor and Amanda came all the way to Wisconsin for Joey's Shepherds College graduation, coming a few days early for a nearby missions conference. Marci would have come, too, but Abby was ill. That meant the world to us!
On Mothers' Day, I see clearly it has not been an even road but life is not meant for our ease or glory. It is meant for God's ultimate glory. In Him, I can be content, even when we walk in dark tunnels sometimes. He loves us and does what is best for us all.
Thank you Mary for that testimony, so sweet , and thank you for your prayers for us . God bless you and your precious son,
And family.
Joey is a sweet young man who is blessed to have a Mom like you. Love you both
Loved this♥️
You are a great mom and Mr Joey is a sweet man and I love him
God has a Will for Joey’s life as He does for His other children.
Thx 4 sharing! That touched my heart ❤️
Thank you sharing! God fitted you for being the best mother ever for Joey❤️