Willow Creek Date Change!
Our visit to Willow Creek Church in Chicago has been changed! My dad and I will now be speaking there on the weekend of June 11 & 12. My appologies – we have a family emergency. But the great news is that Willow Creek Church is very excited to focus the entire weekend on loving and serving those with disabilities.
Please mark your calendars, spread the word, and share your thoughts here!
Our message is titled, “Unexpected Joy; Lessons in Love from a Special Needs Child.
If you love someone with special needs, or if you have special needs, I know you have something to say. And I want to listen. I treasure your input. I hope I will represent you well. You can send me a message here. And please let me know if your message is private, or if I can post it on this site.
So…what do you want people to know about your experience?
Is there a special story that stands out in your mind?
If you had just one thing you’d like people to know, it would be…
Ok, your turn.
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10 Responses to “Willow Creek Date Change!”
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I am a soon to be 90 year old great grandmother with a greatgrandson that is autistic. Your book has inspired us all.
Thanks. Couldn’t help but think what a wonderful addition to your book would be a book with the picture talks you and Max had as described on pg.78 of the book…”I drew the sequence of events like a television story board with words and pictures.!
The quote “you’re an artist, Emily, use your gift.! applies here ! Blessings on you both.
Doris Wydman
Emily, I work with gifted and twice-exceptional learners and their families. Many people have never heard of the term twice-exceptional learner – these are individuals who are gifted and have learning differences like dyslexia, ADHD, sensory processing disorders and often do include learners living with autism. All these individuals are living “outside of the box” in terms of most of our expectations for what a “normal” learner looks like.
Yet the parents of these “outside of the box” learners cling to the universal hope that their families, friends, schools and churches will learn to accept and celebrate the differences in their children and help remove the obstacles that can prevent all children from reaching their true potential.
I think it is so important to make sure that these parents know that we are all unique and loved by a God who sees us as all “outside of the box” children who are equipped with special strengths and abilities – and special needs – that can be effectively used for his Kingdom work.
Dearest Emily,
Over the past 4 weeks, God has introduced me to the awesome gift of you. And, I am so thankful ! As I browsed through an airport bookstore, while waiting the time to board my connecting flight, I was focused on finding something “light” to read. God drew my attention to the single copy on the shelf of your blessing, Dancing with Max. Thank you for your “gift” of encouragement.
Encouragement is one of God’s most joyous gifts that we can share. He supplies us with the materials we need; and puts before us opportunities within which we can use those materials create, build and shape hope, much like the intricate bridges Max creates, in the lives of those who surround us. Helping hands, words of praise, laughter, belief in the “possible”, persisitent prayer and love are the “paints” that we can use to add that touch of sparkle in the eyes of those around us. We all have the ability to embrace others with warmth, tenderness and a prayer of hope. And, we are called to do it now, in the present. Claire Cloninger once related an experience her husband, Spike, had while canoeing. “…Truly uninhibited joy that is rarely seen except in tiny children was erupting in their voices and on their faces. They were feeding upon the moment with such abandon that all else was swept away. Their whole focus, their whole life, was right here. Right now. And the power of it was unconquerable, sweeping up everything within the sound of their voices into an all-encompassing joy.”
Children are masters at full-blown, spontaneous joy!. At some time in our growing years, most of us either loose our child-like joy, or stick it in a box on the shelf with the rest of our childhood keepsakes. God has gifted his special needs children, such as those with autism ,the awesome ability to hold on to and use their spontaneous joy lavishly in the present. They don’t stick it in an old shoe box, to be placed on a closet shelf, with a lid tightly secured, holding the child-like joy safe. They use it with God-given abandon at every possible opportunity! We have so much to learn from these “gifts”.
Another of the gifts that God has given us are horses. In the book of Job, chapter 12, verse 7, Job states” But, ask the animals, and they will teach you.” Horses are like mirrors…they reflect back to us our emotions, our fears, our peace, our joy. I suppose one could desribe them as having autisic tendencies. They can not lie, and they experience things in the moment…not sometime in the future when the chaos wanes. I have learned so much from my equine friends…patience, acceptance, trust, love, perseverance, kindness, gentleness…sounds familiar…the spiritual gifts…
In 2009, as my best friend/sister in Christ and I prayed for direction as to what two retired business women were going to do with the blessings of our combined herd of 12 horses. I do believe that God orchestrates all things in our lives for his purpose. He is directing a symphony in Northwest Missouri!
Michelle and I formed a not for profit that utilizes horses in experiential equine assisted pyschotherapy and therapeutic riding methods. Our equine assisted methods focus on special needs individuals, such as those with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and at-risk individuals of any age. Last year, our youngest participant was 18 months of age while our oldest was 66 years! God has brought so many blessings to us through those we serve. First words have been spoken, first attempts at standing. Smiles and laughter that can not be measured. From our beginning, God impressed upon Michelle and I to offer our therapeutic methods to everyone at no charge, and we continue to do so. God meets each and every need we have at the youth ranch, long before we even are aware that the need exists. Our knowledge of life with special needs individuals can not begin to fill a thimble. Thank you for allowing us, through your book, a glimpse at your life. We pray that it will give us a better understanding of those we serve and equip us with the tools of joy!
Emily,
It’s Megan…your biggest fan of Dancing With Max!
Having a special needs child of my own, a four year old with autism, my world was rocked for a good while when he received his diagnosis. Once I began to realize and accept that my life had taken an unexpected twist, I saw that he is in my life for reasons other than what you “normally” expect. And as my mother pointed out to me one day, no kids are normal (ha! Isn’t that true!?) it was up to me, as his biggest advocate to find his strengths and help him to expand on those. So what if he won’t do exactly what my friend’s sons will do; he will also offer me and all those around him something that others will never get to experience. He is truly a joy and an angel in our family.
Thank you for introducing the world to Max. He is truly an angel too.
T
Hi Emily. I am new to your site. You remember my sister Anne?
Well, I have a special needs child with mutiple developmental delays who has stumped all the neurologists in Manhattan. As you and your readers know from experience, having a special needs child is a real eye opener. Although my son is only 4 1/2, I can already feel that my wife and I are being shunned by other parents. And when we do get asked to go to children’s birthday parties we get treated as if a great tragedy had befallen us. We think that as adults we’ve gotten to a place that has a lot of tolerance for others but when it comes to children, we seem to be utterly intolerant of the slightest deviation. It would be really nice if we could find a way to help parents of normally developing children understand that there is wide range of non-normally developing children and that their parents are generally pretty happy with what they’ve got. Maybe they could start offering that as part of Childbirth classes.
I have no idea how things will work out for my son but I would not trade him for anyone else’s normally developing child.
I have a few thoughts (not very organized). I have a young son with Sensory Processing Disorder and a severe speech disorder. I love both my sons with all my heart, but having been my younger son’s voice for 3.5 years, his advocate and defender, his teacher and therapist, I have to say that my bond with him is unique and precious. Being his mother has made me a better mother to both my sons.
I think that in the same way those who have been “forgiven much love much”, those who grieve over their children’s challenges also rejoice deeply over the smallest triumph. I don’t know any parents of “typical” children who have broken down in tears of joy when their child overcame anxiety to eat a spooonful of pudding, lol!
As a previous poster wrote, the journey we’ve taken into the land of special needs has been one of brokenness for me. Cycles of grief, acceptance, hope, determination, action, and triumph are continuous and have shown me the face of God like never before. Elisabeth Elliott has said, “It is in our acceptance of what is given that God gives Himself.” That has been true for me. And this increased intimacy with Jesus through sorrow and struggle is in itself the greatest joy of being on this journey. Every day with my son holds much joy because of the gift he is, but Jesus coming close to walk with me and often carry me is the deepest joy I have.
I think my experience that would go along with your topic is this…having my son Ryan who has multiple disabilities including Autism has taught me to find joy in little things that parents of typical children take for granted.
Having Ryan first of all, made me realize how much we learn in our lives that we take for granted…we just learn things so easily and incorporate it into our lives and just move on without really thinking about it where we learned it etc. With a special needs child who doesn’t pick up on social cues, learns differently etc., I really saw things so differently for the first time.
Every milestone, such as going a day without ripping his clothes off, became a huge deal! (Parents of a typical kid would never even consider why this would be something to rejoice about!) My son has truly taught me to find the joy in little things…that life is made up of these little moments that God gives us that bring joy in the midst of the chaos and hard times.
I think the greatest love lesson came from the day Ryan was born. I felt such overwhelming love for him (I had lost three babies before him and he was touch and go the whole pregnancy) so I was so incredibly happy and felt such profound blessing to just be holding him…to have him. In that instant, I realized that God loved him even more than I did and that was such an overwhelming feeling…my love for my son was so all consuming. I had loved the Lord since I was a little girl, but my son was such a catalyst in propelling me into a deeper faith because I saw and could relate to another side of my heavenly Father by becoming a parent myself.
Oh, my son has brought me more joy than I could have ever imagined. He is a gift that I rejoice over every day since he’s been born.
I have two grown sons with disabilities. John has autism and Bill has multiple disabilities. Both live in group homes now as they are in their 30′s. I have been thinking a lot about the Scripture in 1 Corinthians 12 that talks about the Body of Christ, especially the part that says that the “weakest parts of the body” are really most necessary. I found great comfort in those words throughout the years and I praise God that I found Jesus because of my sons. God gave me my sons so that I could be drawn to His Son!
Oh, thanks for asking!
What I want people to know is that, contrary to popular Western thought, God did NOT give me two special needs children “because He knew I was a strong person and I could be trusted with them.” PLEASE don’t put me up on that pedestal.
Frankly, God knew I was religiously arrogant, while at the same time slavishly bound to fearful distrust of anyone, including God. He knew I was committed to independence, to aloofness, to building walls around my heart to protect myself.
He knew those walls needed to come down, even though it would feel like death to me. He knew I needed to learn to love even though it felt like the most dangerous thing in the world.
He knew I needed to be broken, so that He could rebuild me.
My children are teaching me to be a trusting child of my Heavenly Father. They are helping me learn to find my life, my hope, my joy, my peace in Him.
I can only hope that I am returning the favor to them.
I two am the Mom of two sons with Autism and I hear the same thing too. Most people tell me they could not do what I do for my sons, and that it takes a special person to do what I do. That is not true, I am like any other Mom, I love my two sons unconditionally, with all of my heart and feel blessed that God gave me these two wonderful sons. They have taught me a lot about love, compassion, understanding, and most importantly, patience.