Parenting and Fear

        Are you afraid? I certainly am. Raising kids is not easiest task in the world, especially raising a child with special needs. My oldest has Inattentive A.D.D. In Mommy-terms, it means she can't stay focused on a task for more than seven minutes and organization isn't even on her radar. Last week I found one of her missing assignments in her gym shoe.
       Because of how much she has grown in the last year, it's hard to remember she is just a child. Being 11 years and standing over 5 feet 7 inches and growing, causes people including myself, to expect more out of her. We all tend to forget she is just a little girl who needs extra patience and time, not to mention discipline. So back to that question I asked, are you scared to parent? Are you afraid of messing up your child to the point he or she will need years of therapy? I've got some advice for you....GET OVER IT! I know, it's hard. Call me nutty (most people do) and embrace the ministry God has given you. No one else out there can parent your child the way God intended for you to. With all the struggles my baby girl has faced just in the last month alone, it's time to stop using other people's advice and parent her the way I sense God is calling me to. It means more tolerance, more patience, disagreeing with what others see as disrespectful and pray they give her more grace. It also means finding more creative ways to teach her the art of discipline in her schoolwork...It means I (and so do you) need to stand on the words of Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." It means we are to embrace our kids for who God created them to be, while holding firmly to God's hand as we take our own child's hand. I'm certain God is building a stronger foundation in my daughter through the struggles she is facing and I don't need to worry about the future. God already as it planned. My job isn't to be afraid, but to focus on the here, and the now, and love her for all she's worth!