And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 2 Corinthians 9:8 (NLT)
The third time I heard this verse in the same day it finally got through to me that God would give me what I needed to be Zack’s mom … right when I needed it most.
I can’t recall where I heard it the first two times that day – it might have been on the radio and then from a devotional. But I will always remember where I heard it the third time. I was sitting in McDonald’s with my husband Jay while our boys played on the large tube structure for kids. Zack was about three and he sat at the bottom of one of the slides, shaking his little hands together and vocalizing repetitively like he always did. Taylor, age five, was climbing up and down and sliding and having a great time as he always did.
I opened my Bible and landed right on this verse. And I burst into tears. Then I explained why I was crying to Jay and bawled some more. I’ve held on to this verse ever since.
Twenty-three years later, I can honestly tell you that God has generously provided all that I need – all that we need – in parenting our son with special needs. That doesn’t mean it’s been easy. But we’ve had what we needed when we needed it. Every time I came to a point of thinking I was going to break, God’s grace would either bring relief by changing Zack’s behavior, providing someone to help, or empowering me to make it through.
God will give you all you need to be a mom to the children He has given you. It will look different than you expect it to, but He will provide the grace you need. And in time you will have something to share with others as they walk a similar path – but for now, don’t worry about that second part because God will make it happen when it’s right.
PRAYER:
Father, today we need you more than ever. Give us what we need to make it through the tough times with our special kids. Take today. Take tomorrow. Take 20 years from now. We don’t want to spend a moment without You in it. Amen.
Author Bio: Elizabeth Griffin is a senior writer at CRISTA Ministries. Her journey as a mom of a child with autism can be followed on her blog “Follow the Dots.” If you would like a free copy of Elizabeth’s book Fragile X, Fragile Hope, let us know at comments@allmomdoes.com.
