Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Wonderfully Made Moms

This is the name of a new small bible study group that we are starting come April for mothers of children with special needs. Mrs. Cindy Evans, a godly, kind woman from my church is the one who spearheaded this new much-needed group for the moms who can get stressed while caring for a special needs child (let's be honest...any other children, too!). Mrs. Evans and her husband have also had a successful ministry called Wonderfully Made that reaches out to and ministers specifically to special needs adults in our area through fellowship and biblical teaching.

Mrs. Evans is a mother of a Trent, her grown son with Down Syndrome. He is a kind, intelligent, hardworking young man who helps out in our church by taking care of the sound ministry and taking offerings. He also greets everyone with a smile! Mrs. Evans has her own blog if you would like to visit it sometime!

A few months ago Mrs. Evans approached me about helping her out with this, and I was so elated! This kind of ministry has been something I have wanted to do for some time now, but I wasn't really sure how to go about it. No doubt it is the Lord providentially bringing us together to work together in this ministry.

Recently I have been writing questions that I have been asking God through my journey of raising a child diagnosed with autism. I remember when Kaylee was first diagnosed I was looking everywhere for a book that would help me along this road...but every book I found (yes even Christian ones!) were only about "curing" my child and not how I was to live in it! I had so many questions and I felt so alone. I wished I had an experienced friend to help encourage me along.

That is what I hope this group will bring to other mothers in a similar situation. My prayer is that we can help each other along and bring hope to others. To be a friend and lift one another up in Jesus Christ.


Here are some of the questions we hope to answer and address:
  • Supermom or not???

  • How should I discipline my special needs child?

  • What does God expect of me?

  • How do I cope with my fears and worries associated with raising a special child?

  • Should I homeschool my child? How do I go about doing this?

  • and more...
Are you a mom struggling in raising your special needs child? Are you someone who has some suggestions for what we can discuss or how we can help others?

I would love to hear from you! Please email me at jlhank80@yahoo.com or leave me a comment. And if you know a mom in the Chicago area who is interested in this small group, please send them my way!

4 comments:

  1. What a wonderful opportunity! Wish I could go. : )

    Kellie

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  2. I think that more churches opened their arms with love and joy to special needs children they would grow beyond their wildest dreams . . . I am so excited for you and this opportunity to reach out to other families.

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  3. I wish I could go too! I'm a friend of Kellie's and found this through her blog. My son is 7 and has autism, diagnosed at 16 mos. My only advice in answering your questions comes from 1Corinthians 16:14 Let all that you do be done with love. If love is your motivation in discipline, deciding how much of supermom you can be, etc you will do it right every time. There are lots of decisions to make and they are tougher than making them for a NT child (as you already know). Let love be your guide. If it doesn't feel like you are letting your child know how much you love and care for them, then re-think your decision. Don't let anyone pressure you to do anything that you aren't comfortable with...sending them to school, disciplining in a certain way, whatever. It can be very hard to set yourself apart from your friends who only have NT kids and go out on a limb and do something different. But, in doing so when you need to, the love you radiate to your children makes it all worth it. Your group sounds wonderful and you sound like an amazing mom!!

    Carla

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  4. Carla, what wonderful, wise advice. You have really challenged me with this simple truth. I will share this with others and keep this in mind when we talk specifically about discipline!

    Looks like you guys could start your own group in KC!

    Bless you!
    Jennie

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