“Virtually Lost” At School This Year

As parents of three kids attempting to tackle kindergarten, preschool and second grade, it’s about all we can do to not throw in the towel this year. The cacophony of sound from multiple devices, kids refusing to mute and yelling, and our tiny dog barking is a comedy show each day. Each of our kids has different needs and abilities, and I’m inadequately trained to do all but the simplest school activities with them.  I only have to manage the chaos of virtual school one day per week, but it’s humbling every time. Often I can’t get signed on, and I question how much my kids are actually learning in this environment.  

From the sensory barrage that is a tidal wave, one thing I do know they are learning is how to deal with adversity.

Unlike our Heavenly Father, as parents, we  aren’t endowed with omnipotent knowledge on virtual meetings, math, or craft projects. In times like these, our deficiencies become sharply clear as we are exposed.

Unfortunately, kids often view our struggles as a complete breakdown of their parents sovereignty. They are used to us having the answers. I’m sure every parent has the memory of realizing their own parents inability to adequately provide. In that moment, a veil has been torn in their childhood reality. 

What a hard reality for a kid to try and understand, but we shouldn’t try and shield them from the fact we are human. But within this new reality are a few teachable moments, the dreaded teachable moment!

So what’s a regular Dad like me supposed to do in these situations? 

It’s a common trope that “more is taught than caught” with kids, and we know every child is watching their parents with a careful eye at all times. This brief window of time we are in virtual school allows my children see what their Dad’s true super power is: not giving up when things get hard.  This is something we often talk about, but being totally out of my areas of competency forces me to put my lectures into action. Woe to the parent who has loaded their teaching with finger wagging one liners like “patience is a virtue!” or “You will thank me one day!” as turn about may be fair play when the kids have you in the fetal position on the floor out of desperation. Even when we (the parental units) are on the ropes, our kids always rally when they see us make a comeback. 

Raising children with disabilities, you are preparing them for the additional hurdles they will always have to contend with. So show up, and dig in. It’s OK to let them know you are struggling, ask them to pray with you and seek God’s help. Jesus prepared his disciples in how to pray.

Prayer is a powerful weapon, and I don’t ask my kids to use it enough. As my kids and I struggle, it often seems to put a wedge between us (parent/child), but if we can see our issue as something to fight together, we grow in strength. Not only do we know that this helps our children cope with issues, it’s also a scripturally sound practice.

Matthew 18:20 talks about how Jesus is with us when two or more are gathered in his name. Although this verse is regarding sin, don’t let a struggle between you and your child become the “sin.”   Call out the adversity together, large or small. This isn’t about shifting blame, but just being real and admitting “we can’t get the iPad to work, AGAIN, and yes I’ll write an email to the teacher letting them know we were trying.”  It’s often in this critical moment where I get a chance to shine in teaching about perseverance. My child is putting their faith in me and for a brief moment I have their full attention, so how do you consciously or unconsciously respond to the struggle?  

Jesus set such an amazing example of patience and reserved strength in the face of adversity. Even in his hardest challenges, he rose to the occasion to set things right and speak truth (think of his temptations by satan in the wilderness). His approaches were infinitely clever, and in addition to loving people fully, his secondary tactics were never the same (think of all the interactions with Pharisees). There were many circumstances that Jesus encountered that were less than favorable, and often people were actively trying to trip him up or prove him wrong.  And in all this, he was leading with love by making time to teach lessons to his disciples.  That is the way we need to approach overcoming adversity with our children. Not despite the hardships we face, but because of them. 

Often on my virtual school days I feel as though I’m on the verge of my own temper tantrum, and having my kids see me walk back from that ledge is a powerful message. We all fall short of the example Jesus set for us, but if I’m leading with love and showing them the struggles of this world are no match for His provision, that is a win. Sometimes they don’t work out the way we planned, but that’s OK. We get extra recess because we don’t get this blessing of quality time back. Then, like magic, the iPad connects to the meeting, which can only be attributed to divine intervention.

Written by Jesse Brubaker

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Jesse Brubaker is a father of 3 little ladies and married to Naomi Brubaker.   He loves food, and is especially skilled at making huge messes in the kitchen. He grew up on a small family run Christmas tree farm in Central Virginia & is now a commissioned missionary working toward moving to France to help bring the gospel to Europe.

Who Needs Some Grace?

As we step closer and closer to the start of the 2020-2021 school year, for most of us, there are a ton of unknowns; more unknowns than I would typically encounter with the start of the school year.  All of this has me spinning in a perpetual whirl of worry and confusion and wondering,

“Am I doing the right thing?”

For me, there feels like so there are many choices but none of them are the ones I feel really good or excited about. 

A few weeks ago I was spinning in a sea of worry about the Fall and the idea of needing a lot of grace and understanding in this season was impressed upon me.  I began thinking of all the people I would be extending grace to this Fall and all the people that would be extending grace back to me.

1. My kids- This is ALL new for them. This is disappointing, hard, confusing, sad and filled with unknowns. There is a big sense of loss for their connections with their teacher and their peers. 

2. Their teacher- Teachers have not been taught to teach like this!  As a former special education teacher, I can not fathom how I might prepare for a semester of teaching my students online.  I know the heart of most teachers is to be with kids, lead them to love learning and be successful, thriving students.  What most teachers are having to prepare for goes against how they were wired at their core to care for kids and ignite a strong desire for learning.

3. Other families- The more I talk to people, the more I become aware that everyone is experiencing this differently.  There are a small number of people who are thriving in Covid, a few that are really struggling and many that are somewhere on the spectrum in between.  This range of views and sentiments towards this disorienting experience is hard to navigate with other families and friends.  

4. Myself- I have the tendency to try to control things more than I should. I have struggled to strike a good balance of being all the roles I am needed in in this season.  There is simply not enough time and energy to do all of this to the full extent.  

5. My spouse- He is a fabulous supporter, cheerleader, and a loving husband and father.  Part of his day is spent out of the house working his full time job.  Sometimes, the ability to leave the house feels like a special privilege, especially when I think about what my day will entail.     

6. School administrators/IEP team- My daughter’s intervention team tried to meet just after school closed in early March.  At that time they didn’t even know how to sign documents to initiate her evaluation.  As the months have passed, they have figured out many things, but there are still so many unknowns. Her evaluation has not even been initiated! Her accommodations are mostly supports I have to implement at home for her success in a virtual format.  With no manual on how to navigate this we have had to be very patient with the school team and offer them a lot of grace as they try to figure out what to do.  I am not implying that we compromise our child’s education for the circumstances, but offer a large measure of patience when working through the challenges as a team.

The list could go on, to include employers, immediate family members and many more. 

So what does extending grace look like practically?  Being OK with the unknowns, things being slower, loud and messy.  Maybe this looks like doing the opposite of what you are inclined to do or say.  

Maybe grace in this season looks like focusing on personal self-care.  Taking small moments of deep breathing, breath prayers, walks, enjoying nature and going to bed earlier are some simple ways to care for ourselves during the day.  Try using some of the sensory strategies we use with our kids on ourselves to remain calm. Make yourself a cup of tea and look out the window for birds.

Maybe grace in this season looks like stepping up our organization game. Packing lunches the night before, laying out clothes and waking up earlier can help us be able to better focus on the hard things that we will encounter during the day.  Creating visual schedules and using timers or alarms on our smart devices can help us not miss the virtual check-ins with the teachers.  

But maybe ultimately grace in this new school year can look like us being more realistic, more loving and more flexible with everyone and everything we encounter.  And ultimately, that is the example I want to set for my children, as now more than ever, they are watching me and learning from my actions.

Written by Naomi Brubaker

Naomi is a mom of 3 girls ages 7, 5, and 2.  Her oldest daughter is diagnosed with ADHD and a visual processing disorder.  Her family lives in Richmond Virginia where Naomi leads the special needs ministry at their church.  Her background in special education and ability to understand parents from her experiences with her daughter give her a unique perspective in her role at the church.  Naomi loves to run, sew and take walks with her husband with any free time she has. 

Quarantine Has Changed Me

This time of quarantine has been challenging. It has been no small task to take a large step outside of the roles I normally hold to fill the roles that quarantine requires of me. It has been a challenge to decrease the freedoms I have at my disposal. But it also has been a time of readjusting the expectations around my life and that has been a huge benefit. I wanted to take a few minutes to share some of the positive changes that have come out of this time.

1.  I like to go-go-go. It has been life altering to suddenly have to stay in place. I have literally had to learn how to sit on the couch and just BE. In the first days of quarantine I somewhat panicked about this, but much to my surprise I have enjoyed this slower pace. As things being to open and schedules threaten to get busier I am finding myself really weighing the benefit of an added activity. Quarantine has taught me to slow down and protect the time our family has together.

2.  I hate to write this one, because it sounds very shallow, but I have learned the value of “do I really need that”.  My days of heading to Target to stroll the aisles and destress and ultimately buying things I don’t really need have passed.  Amazon Prime doesn’t really have 2 day delivery anymore. And I can’t easily just run through the Starbucks drive through as the line is now 5 years long.  Basically what I am saying is my Instant Gratification habits have died. And I find myself asking “Do we really need/want that?”. And guess what that has helped? Our bank account. Isn’t is magical when you stop spending money aimlessly you have more? Dave Ramsey would be so proud! We have saved so much so that we have been able to do a couple house projects we had trouble saving for before!

3.  God is the same Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Our daughter is medically complex but has had a really good few years. The fear of her getting Covid has brought back some of those fears I have had about her health. When I feel the anxiety rise I just have had to come back to the simple truth that God never changes. He is good in all things. That doesn’t mean she won’t get sick, but it means if that happens we will have the strength to get through it. A good friend used to tell me when I worried, “this fear is not upon you, so you don’t have the strength to handle the situation. But God simply does not leave us alone in a fire, so if that situation came about you would have strength to walk through it”. Guess what? Those words have never failed me, and they won’t in this situation either.

4. Expectations make or break the day. This is something that I have worked hard to teach my children during this time. But honestly, I have had to consistently remind myself as well. Expectations need to be realistic, verbalized and agreed upon. I have had to practice setting them with my children during this time, especially as we learned to home school. But practicing having realistic, verbalized and agreed upon expectations has even really helped my husband and I. We go into the days knowing what each other needs which sets the tone for clear communication and mutual goals. 

The beauty of walking through hard things is the great amount of personal growth that can come if we allow the circumstance to mold us for the better. 

Laurisa Ballew is a nurse by trade and mother to a special needs child by fate. She fiercely believes hope and grief walk hand in hand in life, and that storytelling is the universal language that connects us all.  Laurisa has three daughters and writes about the constant humility of parenting in her blog Raising A Sisterhood. 

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Do you remember pre Covid-19 when you dreamed of working from home or having your spouse work from home? Do you remember when you thought it would be so wonderful to have more time with your family or you thought it would just be so great to have your spouse home more to help support you with the parenting load. 

We’ve been living the “new normal” for a little while now. How would you say it is going? Has working from home been everything you dreamed it would be? Some of you might be thinking, “It was great to begin with but you know what they say about having too much of a good thing.” 

Working from home had been a dream of mine. I envisioned a time that I would be more available for Sarah and when I would have more time with my family. As I prayed about future goals for our family, this became a prayer of mine.  Sarah and I have had the privilege of both of us working from home for the last eight years. She homeschooled the boys, while I worked in my office. 

What started out as bliss became “too much of a good thing” at times. One common scenario looked like this. Sarah would finally get the boys focused and I would come out with a work related question or asking her to review an email. I didn’t see the big deal because in my mind it would only take five minutes to answer the question.  In her mind it was a huge deal because she had just spent the last half an hour getting them to focus and it would take her another hour to regain the boys’ focus.

In order for working at home to work and for the dream to not become a nightmare, we had to establish boundaries and set up a system for handling the different things that came up throughout the day that we needed each other’s input on.   

Some of you might be finding yourselves  having this same struggle.  You’re not used to having this much time together and your routines are not working like they used to. You might find yourself dwelling on those little, or maybe not so little, irritations that come up throughout the day.

Here are four tips to help this extra family time to not become too much of a good thing:

1.  Talk about it with your spouse. Don’t lash out about it but calmly communicate the point of tension. Sarah was able to share with me how my interruptions were impacting the school day with the kids and we were able to develop a plan. As a side note, if both you and your spouse are reading this, be prepared for your spouse to talk to you. Be safe and loving. Don’t become defensive. Take responsibility and work with your spouse to develop a plan.

2. When you focus on the negative, it is easy to only see the negative. Take captive those little annoyances about your spouse, remember that they are the same person you fell in love with however many years ago, and don’t think about those things.

3. Choose to think about the positives of your spouse and make a list.

4. Share one thing with your spouse that you appreciate about them.

It has been eight years since we began working at home together. We have each grown in so many ways. There are still days where we struggle but those are fewer and our marriage is stronger.

Written by Jonathan McGuire

Jonathan McGuire  is  the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here.

Hope Anew has launched the Hope Anew Online Community and would love to have you be a part of it! You can learn more at www.HopeAnew.com.  Due to COVID-19, Hope Anew is waiving all membership fees for the community!

Parenting Burnout

It is week number whatever since COVID-19 began and I am making good progress on my coffee stash.  The cutesy Facebook posts highlighting everyone’s Pinterest projects are starting to fade. The smiles are starting to look more strained  as parents are wondering how much longer they will have to be the counselors/craft room directors at “Camp Corona.”

When asked how they are doing, I have heard multiple parents sheepishly reply that they “need a break from their kids.”  

There is a feeling of always being “on” and no end in sight. Parents are helping their kids navigate emotions, trying to come up with activities, and teaching school. They may have less help and support to care for their children impacted by disability. They are helping their children work through interpersonal conflict with each other and trying to come up with out of the box ways for their children to have social interaction. This is all while trying to figure out the rest of life. You know the little things like jobs, bills, taxes, food, and toilet paper.

I’m going to make a comparison that you may find to be controversial and may make you uncomfortable but if we were looking at someone who had these types of stressors at their regular place of employment, we would say that they were at risk of “burnout.”

You may be thinking to yourself, “but parents aren’t allowed to burnout.”

 If you Google burnout, you will get the following definition:

“Burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress. It occurs when you feel overwhelmed, emotionally drained, and unable to meet constant demands.”

Does this sound familiar? In all reality, due to the nature of this journey in special needs and disabilities, you have likely found yourself in this position prior to COVID-19.

In those times where you find yourself fantasizing about a half day where you don’t have to be a parent, a spouse and a care giver, you likely have recoiled and buried the emotion. We feel guilty because we fear it means that we love our families less and are fearful of sharing this emotion with others because we are afraid of what they may think.

I want to encourage you. This feeling doesn’t mean that you love your family less but it is a feeling we should take seriously when we experience it. It serves as a warning.

I recently heard the analogy that batteries only have so much energy that they can expend before they are completely depleted. This is true of us as well.  We know that if we want to use our cell phones tomorrow, we can’t just use them non-stop and not charge them.  Similarly, we need to charge our own batteries. This is done through self-care.

So how are you doing? Do you recognize the signs of burnout in your life? If so, what is one thing you can do today to begin recharging your battery?

If you need ideas for self-care, feel free to download our pdf on “5 Minute Vacations” or watch the video here. We will also be talking about this more in upcoming posts.

Written by Jonathan McGuire

Jonathan McGuire  is  the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here.

Hope Anew has launched the Hope Anew Online Community and would love to have you be a part of it! You can learn more at www.HopeAnew.com.

Due to COVID-19, Hope Anew is waiving all membership fees for the community!

A Better Way

Here in Illinois we are in week 4 of the Coronavirus lockdown and our house is rapidly edging toward stir crazy. I am used to working from home. Pretty much no one else here is. My wife is a raging extravert and my daughter, a sophomore in high school, desperately wants to see her friends. Our oldest can’t go to work because it is shut down. Even my autistic son Nathan, who is in a transition program he doesn’t really like, wants to go back to school. Online school simply isn’t the same. His mom has been his paraprofessional and she is tough.

For most of us, the coronavirus pandemic is inconvenient, but for others, it really is causing suffering: people are dying from this disease, businesses are failing because they cannot operate. There is going to be fallout for some time to come. Just like our series looking at the causes of suffering related to our special needs children, many of us are asking why this pandemic is happening. Is it our fault? Is it God’s fault or the devil’s fault? Is there no fault at all? What are we to do about this?

As we have seen, these questions often lead to answers that come up short. The Bible simply doesn’t offer us a catalog of reasons for suffering. Sometimes we will suffer for following God, but that is clearly not the only kind of suffering we see in Scripture. Sometimes the reason is hidden. Sometimes we don’t get a reason. So what are we to do? How do we face another day, another meltdown, another shattered dream?

We look to God.

I know, I know, that sounds trite. A “Jesus Juke”. Something the person who has never had a problem says. I get it. I am tempted to respond that way, but beyond the cliché there is something real. When I say “look to God”, I mean it. Look to God’s character. When we do this, something very important comes to light.

Throughout the Old Testament, God is patient with his people. Old School King James: “long-suffering”. Over and over again God’s people fail. Adam and Eve, Cain, Abraham (often the same failures repeatedly), Jacob, Moses, the entire book of Judges, Saul, David, Solomon . . . you get the picture. God never abandons his people. He never walks away. They provoke his anger, yet he is patient. When his people repent, he is always there for them. He may have seemed far away, silent, but he is always closer than they think. Perhaps the most dramatic picture is the book of Hosea – a man who is repeatedly betrayed by his wife, who suffers greatly because of it, but who sees restoration and healing. Hosea is a picture of God and his wife Gomer is Israel. God understands suffering and is in his very nature long-suffering. But this is not the end of the story.

 In Jesus we see something more. Not only does God suffer because of his people, in Jesus he suffers with his people. Paul, in Philippians 2:5-11 reminds us that Jesus was God who chose to become a slave, a human and to die a violent death on our behalf. God suffers with his creation. God suffers for his creation. 

When we ask “why?!”, we mostly want to know that this suffering matters, that someone cares. Jesus shows us that God does care, that he is paying attention even if we do not see it. This changes everything. When we realize that God suffers on behalf of his rebellious children, the very children who broke his beautiful creation, when we see that he has taken the job of repairing the breach on himself, we can be encouraged to face the next day, the next challenge, the next . . .

We do not always see or understand how or where God is at work. We know, we have seen, that he is trustworthy. Jesus reminds us that God sees even the sparrow fall and that we are worth far more than a sparrow (Matt. 10:29-31). 

“Why?” is an important question, a question that does not, I believe, offend God in the slightest. It is a question we ought to ask. But we can’t live there. In Jesus God shows us that we don’t have to. In Jesus God holds out his hand to us and says

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt. 11:28-30)

Written by Kevin O’Brien

Kevin O’Brien is a husband, father, ordained minister, writer and volunteer theologian. He holds a Master of Divinity and Master of Theology from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary where he won the Th.M. award in 1997. He has also done graduate work at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto.  Kevin worked as a brand manager on the Bible team at Tyndale House Publishers. During his time at Tyndale he has helped to develop several Bibles and has written articles which have appeared in The Way, the iShine Bible, and the Illustrated Study Bible. He also wrote a series of devotionals for WAYFM’s World’s Biggest Small Group.

Most recently, Kevin wrote an Advent devotional eBook. You can find it here. 

Kevin lives in the far western suburbs of Chicago with his wife, three children, a dog, and a cat. He would prefer to spend his time reading, writing, woodworking and watching the Chicago Blackhawks.

4 Steps for Navigating Fear

In last week’s article, I shared how fear serves an important role and acts like the warning light on the dash of our car.  How did last week go? Did you recognize this warning light going off in yourself, your spouse, or child?

If your answer is yes, then you may be wondering what to do. Here are four steps to help you navigate your fear and for you to help your family members navigate their fears:

1.     Pray & remind yourself of who God is:

Take a deep, slow breath or 20 and share your fears with your heavenly father. Ask Him for His peace and wisdom. Remind yourself of those truths in God’s word about who He is and His character. For example, He is sovereign and all knowing.

2.     Develop & implement a plan:

For example:

1. Determine steps needed to protect your family from getting sick, such as limit social interaction, wash hands, etc.

2. Establish a new routine – after being somewhere, get in car and use hand sanitizer on hands, inside door handle, phone and wallet before touching the steering wheel

3. Check into alternative options to meet medical needs, if the need arises

4. Think of alternative solutions for social engagement

5. …..

This will not be a one and done plan. As you implement it, you will need to revise it to better meet your family’s needs. There will be items on the list that you won’t have immediate solutions for but part of your plan may be steps to find those solutions.

3.     Find a community:

Fear becomes more paralyzing when we go through it alone. Find a community that gets it but be aware of the culture of that community.  You become like the people you spend the most time with. If the community is negative and not hope-filled, that will feed your fear and not reset it.

As a side note, if this is a need that you see in your life, I would like to invite you to join the Hope Anew Online Community. This is a great time to join as we have waived the membership fee. You can learn more at HopeAnew.com

4.     Look for ways to bless others:

When we look for ways to be “Jesus with skin on” to others, it can take our focus off ourselves and we can receive joy as we encourage others.

During this time you may need to be creative but it can become a fun family project.

As you are figuring out how to navigate this new season, remember that God is with you. He loves you and your family. He will never leave you and never forsake you.

Written by Jonathan McGuire

Jonathan McGuire  is  the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here.

Hope Anew has launched the Hope Anew Online Community and would love to have you be a part of it! You can learn more at www.HopeAnew.com.  Due to COVID-19, Hope Anew is waiving all membership fees for the community!

Written by Jonathan McGuire

Is It Okay To Fear?

Is it okay to fear?

This is a question I keep finding myself asking, especially with the current COVID-19 pandemic. As I talk with other people and watch posts on social media, I see an unspoken tension between families who are fearful about the current health pandemic and those who say, “Do not fear and be courageous.”

Families fear for their parents or spouses that fall in the high risk category. Mothers are fearful for their spouses and children who have “essential” jobs and still have to go out. Parents are fearful of losing their jobs or how to provide for their families if they have lost their jobs. Moms and dads are fearful of how to protect their medically fragile children and make sure they have what they need whether that is medication, special equipment or even special food for restricted diets.

I remember standing in church singing, “There’s No Fear In Love.” This is a direct quote from the first sentence 1 John 4:18. The entirety of this passage reads:

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

Every time I sang this song, I would internally scoff and think, “Really…no fear.” Then I would get irritated as I thought of those who received a new diagnosis for their child and were scared or found themselves in a situation that was out of their control such as a job loss, cancer diagnosis or myriad of other fear inducing scenarios. I would half-heartedly sing through the song and move on.

If you look at the verse leading up to 1 John 4:18, it says the following:

“This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.”

“There’s no fear in love” refers to the day of judgement. Those who have a relationship with God through His son, Jesus, do not have to fear on the day of judgement.

So back to the original question. Is it okay to fear? Yes…but. 

God created our emotions, including fear. Fear can serve a beneficial purpose. It can help trigger that fight or flight response. If a lion starts to chase you, fear pushes you to take action and to try to escape. It is like the warning light on your dash that tells you something needs to happen. If you ignore that low fuel light for long, you will find that your car will stop moving.

That light on your car’s dash makes you pause and put together a plan. You mentally go through the check list of determining how far you can go, when you will fill up and what gas station you will stop at to get gas. A plan is put in place.

Similarly, when fear lights up on our internal dashboard it should make us pause, figure out why it is showing up and then determine our response or action plan. 

You may be thinking to yourself, you said, “Yes…but” when you asked if it is okay to fear. What is the “but.”

Have you ever watched a YouTube video or National Geographic show where a giant predator starts to attack its prey and the prey freezes in place? This is when fear becomes bad. When fear becomes all-consuming to the point that we are frozen in inaction.

It is also bad when it becomes chronic. When we live in a chronic state of  “fight and flight”, our bodies will respond negatively. It will negatively affect our emotional, physical, and spiritual health.

So what can we do when we see that dash light? Next week we will look at four steps to walk through when we start to feel fearful.

As you look at how you are doing during this time, are there any dash board lights going off? If you are married or have children, do you see any warning lights going on with your family members?

Written by Jonathan McGuire

Jonathan McGuire  is  the father of two sons and the co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that comes alongside the parents of children impacted by disability on a spiritual and emotional level. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here.

Hope Anew has launched the Hope Anew Online Community and would love to have you be a part of it! You can learn more at www.HopeAnew.com. Due to COVID-19, all membership fees have been waived.