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Adoption: Dispelling Four Common Myths
November is National Adoption Month—a month for focusing on how ministries and organizations can best seek to care for waiting and vulnerable children locally and around the world. It’s also a month for focusing on how we can best support families who have answered the call of adoption or foster care. But in order to understand how to best serve these families, we need to dispel a few common myths so that we can to gain greater comprehension and awareness. Myth #1: Agencies find children for families. Truth: Agencies find families for children. When we view adoption as finding families for children, we create a major mindset shift—a shift…
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What Parents of Special Needs Kids Wish You Knew
Hard is hard, period. “We are not competing in the ‘Suffering Olympics,’” seminary professor, author, and mother to a special needs child, Dr. Sandra Glahn, often remarks. What she means is that in terms of trials, hardship, and heartache, we are not in a competition attempting to win the medal of “Life’s Worst Circumstance.” But life as a parent of a special needs child is unique. It contains daily nuances, challenges, and worries that are far from normal. My husband and I recently adopted our son from China. He has both medical and emotional special needs. I often find it hard to explain why my son needs this or that…
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Don’t Believe My Newsfeed
I see you. I see your newsfeed with smiling photos, happy videos, and the latest accomplishments. When someone asks, “How are you doing?” what do you say in response? “We’re hanging in there.” “We’re taking one day at a time.” “It’s harder than we expected, but we’re still standing.” “I showered today, so it’s a good day.” These responses hint at the real truth. But perhaps you’re not that honest and instead respond, “We’re great! Adoption (or foster care) rocks.” Indeed it does. Adoption and foster care does rock. But it’s not a fairytale. It’s the redemptive work of God in the midst of much brokenness and trauma. It’s redemptive…
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How Deep the Father’s Love
His name is Jason. He’s in his early 20s, lives daily with physical difficulties so that he can barely walk. His father helps him walk to his seat at church and holds Jason up so he can help take the offering during the service. What captured my attention is the look of deep, deep love on the father’s face as he interacts with Jason, his son. A son who will never be the star quarterback or ace pitcher or do any of those other “great” things a father might expect from his son. How deep the father’s love for Jason! This father-son relationship was so beautiful to behold that I…
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When someone you love has “special needs”
Last Sunday Rick Warren, with Kay by his side, returned to the Saddleback Church pulpit for the first time since April when his beloved twenty-seven year old son Matthew committed suicide after years of battling mental illness and depression. Warren wept as he confided that his number one daily prayer had always been for his son. Did God not hear his prayers? What do we do when someone we love has "special needs"? We have a special needs person in our family and I'll bet you do too, or you know someone who does. Living with someone with frustrating limitations they can't help can be exhausting, exasperating, and bring…
