Hope and Healing

Some suffer much

Fresh tragedy

Love gone

Lost and alone

 

Awash with tears

  

Wretched pain

 

Constricts the heart

 
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 Some suffer long

Some by choice

Nurturing their wounds

Living in the past

Refusing to let go

Of days of old


Deeply scarred
 

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Hope hidden

Hope forgotten
 
Haunted by grief 

 

Heart turned to stone

Lost in bitterness
 
Impervious to Love

The soul withers
 

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 A distant knock

A fluttering of the heart

Slight movement of the soul

Touched by Word or Spirit

Aware or  not

Of the Father waiting


To enter in
 

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Then a whisper

An inkling of hope

Light floods the darkness

Hope and healing enter in

Worked by the Holy Spirit

Sight restored, Truth revealed

The soul transformed


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A child of God emerges

 Healed and whole

Knowing his heritage

Is not of this life

But found in Eternity

Heart Overflowing

Basking in Grace 
 

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Ransomed, redeemed

Cleansed by the blood of the Lamb

Walking in the Light

Where fear cannot live

The past irrelevant

In communion with the Father

Consumed by Love

He Waits - Encouragement in Sorrow

This I know as truth

As well as I know adversity

I know the road less traveled

Is never traveled alone

Even in my most solitary moments

I know He waits

I feel His presence

I know His healing touch

He waits with great longing

For me

Me - His beloved

With my big sorrows and little sorrows

He waits...

With love enough to heal

Just as He waits for you

With deep longing

He calls you by name

A still, small voice

Come to me, my child

I am the source of all

Which is called Love

I came

To take away all  sorrow

To dry your tears

To envelop you in comfort

Heal you in union

With me

Filling the place of sorrow

With love

And a promise that what is lost

Will be found again

In a reunion in Heaven

Heart Work

As I sat with other moms who have children with special needs last night, I pondered how our lives were different from those raising typically developing children.  Specifically, about the extraordinary heart work that burdens us at times.

They ponder difficult questions -  questions that most parents do not have to entertain for our children of significant intellectual disabilities.

Our children: 

Most likely will never live alone.

Most won’t drive a car.

They are more susceptible to others who would take advantage of them in evil ways.

The list goes on and on…

We still have dreams and hold on to the dreams of our children.

…and fears for their future.

As a group we ponder the questions:

What am I going to do when…

How will I handle this…

What about those who do not understand…

Tough questions with nebulous answers if any.  We will do our best with what we have to work with and the hope that the hand of God is displayed in our response.

We understand what the future holds to a certain degree.  We grieve and rejoice.  There are tears and laughter.

We are secure in knowing that the Lord will provide what He desires for our loved ones to complete their ministry on earth.

Yet our fears remain out of our own brokenness and the brokenness of the world.

I am honored to know these women.  I am blessed by their transparency and their profound faith.

For the reader who is isolated and feeling alone on this journey as the parent or caretaker of an individual with special needs please find a community in which you can share and be encouraged and strengthened for the journey.

Here is a great place to start

Not Alone - Where Special Parents Find Community