Have Yourself A Merry Special Needs Christmas

Are you feeling frustrated by the circumstances of your life? Are the holiday preparations and anticipations making you nervous? Often, the burden of our overwork as special needs moms can lead us to feelings of anxiety, turmoil, apprehension and depression. Doctor's appointments, IEP meetings, medical testing, holiday shopping, traffic jams -- it doesn't take much for our teetering schedules to spin out of control. How can we overcome our feelings of frustration when they occur?

Isaiah 41:10 Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Psalm 34:18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

John 4:4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

Luke 12:27 Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Psalm 46:10 Be still and know that I am God.

When we are overwhelmed and do not know what to do, remember that God will provide for us as He has always. His peace is there for the taking whether we have been dealing with our child's needs for a long time or if we have just recently received their diagnoses. If our lives don't look like most people's, and we don't conform to the norm, let it be. We have our own road, and we are not alone upon it. You and your child are unique. God had a plan for you long before either of you took your first breath. The call to us from Scripture is clear. We are to be still. Stand still — not because of our own countenance or sense of composure, but because God is our refuge and our strength.

There is peace where the humanity and humility of our special families meet God's mercy and grace. May your family's Christmas be unique, holy, still, and blessed. Love, Theresa

NOTE: Please take a listen to Immanuel (God Is With Us) below. It is sung by children in England -- it is as if they are singing it to us and to our children. THIS,my dear sisters in the Lord, is our Christmas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iE_tuMpIOho