A guest post opportunity at Not About Me.

Carole Sparks from Not About Me asked me to write a guest post for her blog Intentional Parenting. That’s an oversimplification! She reached out to me and then asked and asked asked and asked. I had too many things going on this summer and I always had a good excuse (to me at least!) But like the persistent widow (Luke 18 : 1-8) she kept reaching out to me kindly and gently and firmly. She believed I had something to say and she wanted to make sure she could share that with the online world.

I finally wrote down what she requested. A few minutes here, a stolen moment there and I finished. Without editing or checking for length , I sent it off to Carole , with permission to edit as ruthlessly as she must. Graciously Carole allowed most of the original post to stay.

At Intentional Parenting, Carole’s goal is to show how Jesus Christ of Nazareth has been and still is her model for parenting her children. She writes with the intention (pun intended!) of helping other parents realize that parenting is and should be our highest calling. She writes with the hope that you realize that she is flawed and imperfect and has made mistakes, but that you can see the truth of what goes on and realize that she is not judging you. She aims to encourage you and give you ideas and tips to help you along in your parenting journey.

With that goal in mind, Carole reaches out to other Christian mothers to write about their journey, sometimes so very different from her own. As always what we write and are allowed to guest post on her blog are meant to glorify our God. It’s meant to show you the reader that our imperfections and our weaknesses and our struggles are what they are, so that the All-Powerful, All-Knowing and Good God can fill us up with His strength and provide all we need.

I was privileged to be able to write for Carole’s blog and we would love it if you read the post and encouraged us in the comments.

“When letting others help you raise your child is the best thing you
can do for him”.

The first few times I said special needs, Autism or something similar,
I brawled. I sobbed. I cried. I grieved actively (by which I mean I
cried every day) for several months, then on and off after that. I’d
be fine for awhile but then the grief would hit me for a few weeks,
and I’d be a weepy mess again, just able to do the day to day things,
and nothing more.

But since then I’ve been and am broken. I’ve allowed God to do what He
wishes in my life, by which I mean I accept, I’m not fighting and I’m
not running in the opposite direction.

I’ve also been restored and refreshed and held, in loving hands. He
has walked with me and watched me and knows.

But coming back to what helped our son. He was diagnosed 3 years ago
when he was 3 years old.

To continue reading, head on over to Carole’s Intentional Parenting blog and leave a comment please. We want to know how special needs changed your life and how God has been faithful in the midst of it all.

Until next time,

Vanessa.