Beyond Labels: Seeing the Beauty in EVERY Child

Do you ever feel like your child is looked down on because of their disability or special need?

In the world, you often see a differentiation between the “haves” and the “have nots.” Those in sports are esteemed more highly than the shelf stocker at Walmart. The advice of those with the largest following on social media or YouTube is more sought after than the grandfather or grandmother up the street.

Sadly, this can even be true at churches. I hear of many parents on this journey in special needs walking through the church doors looking for community and eventually walking away because they are made to feel like their child is a burden. Congregation members treated their child as less than and not really valued.

If this is your story, I’m sorry. This Easter season, I want to assure you that God does not see your son or daughter as less than.

Here are 5 ways that we can see this in the Bible. 

1. Your child is created in God's image

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them." - Genesis 1:27 (NIV)

This verse reminds us that every person, including those with special needs, is created in God's image and is therefore uniquely valuable and important in God's eyes.

 

2. God sees beyond physical limitations

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

– 1 Samuel 16:7 (NIV

While human beings often focus on physical appearances and abilities, God looks at the heart. He sees beyond a person's disabilities to their true character and potential.

3. God sees my child's struggles and cares for them

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." - Psalm 34:18 (NIV)

As a parent, it can be heartbreaking to see my child struggle with challenges or disabilities. But I take comfort in knowing that God sees their struggles and cares for them deeply. God is close to those who are brokenhearted, and I believe that He is with my child every step of the way.

4. We are all equal in Christ

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:28 (NIV)

In this passage we can see that in Christ, there is no distinction between people based on their race, gender, or social status. This includes people with disabilities, who are equal members of the body of Christ. God values each person equally and desires for us to love and accept one another just as Christ has loved and accepted us (John 13:34-35).

5. God has given your child a unique gift or talent to share with the world

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)

This verse reminds us that every person, including those with special needs, has unique gifts and talents that can be used to make a positive impact on the world. By valuing and nurturing these gifts, we can help our children to realize their full potential and make a positive difference in the world around them.

This Easter season, as we celebrate the death and resurrection of our savior, I want to encourage you that not only does our heavenly father know and love you. In the same way, He fully loves your son or daughter. He does not view them as a burden or less than.

He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

~ Isaiah 40:11 (NIV)

Written by Jonathan McGuire

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Jonathan McGuire  is the dad of two boys and co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that guides the beat up, battered, and worn out parents of children impacted by disabilities and special needs through the spiritual and emotional challenges they face to Christ-centered hope and healing.

Celebrating Easter with 7 Sensory Friendly Ideas

What was Easter like for you growing up?

 I remember waking up Easter morning and going to church. Spring was in its beginning stages and there was a general excitement in the air as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection. The church would be stuffed to capacity with families sitting shoulder to shoulder in the pews. After church we would make our way to various family reunions, where we would laugh, play games and eat too much food.

Now for many of us as parents of children impacted by disabilities and special needs, Easter celebrations look a bit different. The idea of sitting in a cramped pew and the normal Sunday morning church routine having been thrown out the window sends chills up our back, as we all know change can be difficult.

Navigating family get togethers can give us a sense of dread and the idea of doing a community Easter Egg Hunt may be laughable.

So how do we make Easter a true celebration and communicate its significance to our little ones?

Here are 7 ideas that you can try at home.

1. Easter-themed scavenger hunt: Create an Easter-themed scavenger hunt with clues that relate to the story of Easter. For example, the first clue could be "Find the palm branch that people waved when Jesus entered Jerusalem" and the next clue could be hidden with a palm branch. If you want a little help with this, check out these resurrection easter eggs.

2. Easter Story Sensory Bin: Create a sensory bin or tray filled with materials that relate to the Easter story, such as miniature palm branches or palm leaves, rocks, and a small tomb. Your child can explore the materials with their hands and feel the different textures while you talk about the story of Easter.

3. Visual aids: Use picture books, illustrations, or even videos to help your child understand the Easter story. You could also create a visual schedule or social story to help your child understand what will happen during Easter celebrations. One possible picture book that your child might enjoy is:

   "The Tale of Three Trees" by Angela Elwell Hunt - This touching story follows three trees as they each become part of Jesus' life and ministry, teaching children about the power of faith and sacrifice.

4. Music and movement: Sing Easter songs or play music that relates to the story of Easter, such as "Jesus Loves Me" or "This Little Light of Mine." You could also use simple movements or gestures to help your child understand the story, such as pretending to wave palm branches or holding your arms outstretched like Jesus on the cross.

5. Role-play: Use props or costumes to act out the Easter story with your child. For example, use a toy donkey to represent Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, or use a blanket and pillow to create a tomb for Jesus. This can help your child understand the story in a more interactive and engaging way.

6. Resurrection garden: Create a miniature garden with your child to represent the Easter story. Use a small planter, soil, grass seed, and miniature figures to represent Jesus, the tomb, and the women who discovered the empty tomb.

7. Easter movie night: Watch an Easter-themed movie or cartoon with your child, such as "The Prince of Egypt" or "VeggieTales: An Easter Carol." Afterward, talk about the story and its meaning, and encourage your child to ask questions.

So which one of these do you think you will try? Let me know in the comments.

"But Jesus called the children to him and said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,'" (Luke 18:16 NIV).

Written by Jonathan McGuire

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Jonathan McGuire  is the dad of two boys and co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that guides the beat up, battered, and worn out parents of children impacted by disabilities and special needs through the spiritual and emotional challenges they face to Christ-centered hope and healing.

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The Shell Of Many Colors

“He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay.”

(Matt., 28:6, ESV).

This past Good Friday I had my son with me for an overnight visit. Being a now divorced dad, there are many challenges that naturally come up, but one very important one is how our autistic son will be supported in his Christian faith. For my part, I have sought out a new church with a special needs ministry that we could attend together, try to keep up with Bible reading when we can, and of course celebrate the holidays.

For a change, I decided to attempt coloring Easter eggs with him on my own for the first time. It might not seem to be any big deal to parents of typical kids, but in our house doing something as trivial as coloring easter eggs can be a big job. While I know my son understands what coloring Easter eggs is over all of these years, he still struggles with the motor control to independently control and dip the eggs, and of course he deals with sensory issues which encourage him to want to stick his hands in and splash the water. But I still felt it was an important bonding activity for the two of us, so I purchased the eggs and the kit, set up everything as orderly and neatly as I could, and we endeavored to color some eggs. Since he is non-verbal, I also set up his Ipad with his communication app next to the setup, so that he could tell me what colors he wanted to use. When it was all ready and I called him over to the table, I of course took the obligatory picture of him pointing to the colors that he liked best.

An activity like this could truthfully be pretty quick, as I just ask my son the colors he likes, assist him in dipping them into the coloring, and lay them down to dry, simple. But as people of faith, I want him to know that this is about more than just doing something fun. The eggs represent rebirth and new life, and more specifically the act of Jesus coming out of the tomb on Resurrection Sunday. I paused to reflect though on what this  meant for me and my son doing this together, as that visual of emerging from the egg had bigger connotations in that moment. I thought about this hopefully being the beginning of the end of the covid pandemic, and our whole population coming out of quarantine. I also thought about my son’s own condition as a non verbal child, and how him being able to use his device to communicate his wants was also a way of him coming out of the shell of his speech impediment. 

Watching the eggs dry, I gazed as the wet colors settled on the shells, forming their intricate swirls and patterns, contemplating their uniqueness. Just like each one of those eggs, they are unique and beautiful in their own way, manifesting the colors of God’s love, wrapping around the hardened shells of doubt and fear. It is a wonderful reminder that everything can change in the blink of an eye, as soon the shells will break, and the tomb will open, revealing the glory that was hidden inside.

Written by John Felageller

Follow John on his website: www.johnfelageller.com

Seasons of Doubt

Hi Friends, it's April! I can't wait to see flowers start to bloom and trees start to bud after this winter season. Living in northern Indiana, we get to experience all four seasons very distinctly.

The theme in the Hope Anew Online Community this month is Questions, especially regarding God, Scriptures, and faith. This journey in disability and special needs has a way of making us question and rethink our worldview and priorities. Sometimes, whether we want to question them or not. We want to encourage you that if you are going through a time of unrest in your view of life and God, the Hope Anew Online Community is a safe place to voice those doubts, ask those questions, and work through that process. 

God is incredibly patient and understanding with us. He invites us to come to Him with our cares, fears, doubts, disappointments, misunderstandings, anger, and grief. He offers salvation because He knows we are a mess. He doesn't expect us to come to Him polished and perfect. He holds His arms wide in welcome, loving us as we are, and holds our hand as we take the next step in becoming more like Him. 

If you are currently in a time of questioning God, feeling abandoned and disillusioned by Him, keep asking, keep seeking, keep bringing those doubts, fears, anger, and grief to Him. Just as winter in Indiana can seem like it will never end, time and history show us that it will. Spring will come, flowers will bloom in their own right time if we wait for it.

If you keep pressing into God, asking questions, seeking HIM for who He is, He will meet your need for Him. His answer may not be what you were expecting or desiring, but it will be a good answer because that is His character. He is a good Father. He sees you and has promised never to abandon His children. 

All fees related to the community have been waived, so you can now join for free. I’m loving having a supportive, encouraging community of parents who “get it” and would love to have you join us!

Sarah McGuire  is the Mom of two boys and co-founder of Hope Anew, a nonprofit that guides parents to Christ-centered hope and healing. You can follow Hope Anew on Facebook here. You can also check out Hope Anew’s Online Community here!

A God Who Gets It

Do you ever feel so alone and like there just is not anyone who really gets it? It is impossible to explain to someone in passing the realities of what it took for you to be at that place at that moment.  Most people won’t be able to understand what goes into your average week or would not know what to really say when you tell them where you are really at emotionally or spiritually.  When you finally are able to sit down with your friends over a cup of coffee, you find it hard to really enter into the conversation because you are in such different places. You find your priorities are different and discussing vacation plans or home decorating ideas is taxing.

Finding those one or two people who you can really be open with and really share your heart with is so hard. This Easter season I have been reminded that while being a parent of a child impacted with special needs can be really lonely, we have a God who gets it.  He gets it like no one else really can.

Many of us memorized John 3:16 as a child. It says, "For this is how God loved the world: He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." It is so easy to just read over that and think how nice it is that God provided a way that our sins can be forgiven and that we can once again have a relationship with Him.  When reading this verse, I have always thought about the cost to Jesus for our salvation and it wasn't until recently that I really stopped and thought about what it cost God the Father.

He knew what restoring our relationship with Him would cost His only son. The Father knew what Jesus would endure when He came to a sin cursed world. He knew that as Isaiah, prophesied in chapter 53, His son would be a "man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief" and despised and rejected. Our Heavenly Father heard Jesus' prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was praying so intensely for another option that He sweated drops of blood. He knew that His son would die on a cross after being whipped, mocked and having a crown of thorns placed on His head. This is how I know that He understands what we are going through.  He gets my pain when I see the additional struggles my son faces. He gets my joy when I celebrate the successes.

So this Easter season, while I am celebrating the resurrection of my Savior, I am also celebrating the fact that I am not alone. My Father gets it and I can pour out my heart to Him at any time.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

~ Psalm 91:1 (NLT)