Inspiration

Yesterday we were watching "The Kirate Kid" during our family movie night and in that movie was a great quote: "Breakthroughs happen because someone is scared to death to stop trying!"

We live in a small community, which many say is almost perfect. This can be seen by the lack of police beat that is published in the newspaper in comparison to the surrounding cities. In our community it's about the type of clothes worn, the cars driven and the amount of kids, not to mention how long and how many ties are within either by blood or through years of living in the area. This is just like every other community I'm sure.

What is not seen are the wives and mothers who are lonely because their husbands are at work to continue the lifestyle they have become accustomed to living. The families who struggle to make ends meet because of tragedy or lack of knowledge and focus. Most importantly are the families who have kiddos with special needs.

It's time for a change! In order for change to happen their must be a shift in thinking. Our special kids need to be seen within the community of their peers, their families need to know they are supported and loved because in most incidences the families feel alone and unsupported. We (my husband and I) have already begun to create that shift.

Many ideas have already been thought up and started. Our plans will take time. For right now I will continue to pray that when the time comes, people will be open to the ideas and be willing participants because God has stirred something within them. Currently, the only thing available for our kids outside of school is the baseball team. Our plans within the next 3 years will involve creating a place within the sports arena so that everyone has an opportunity to participate in every sport.

To help jump start our dream we (hubby and I) have begun to spread our wings so that j can fly independently. At our church our population has grown with children of special needs and it is now important to fertilize it and watch it grow. This idea was jump started by another mother but due to the age of her infant and needs of her child she could no longer continue the journey. In order to make sure her ideas and passion didn't fall by the wayside my hubby and I chose to take what she started and move forward so that one day she too could enjoy the benefits she awarded us! This is by no means an easy task, but considering we are further along in our journey than this mom with a passion, it was necessary!

At the beginning of the year we will begin our voyage into the special education field. At this point I am learning to write the curriculum for my son and it is my hope that in January I will be able to begin writing curriculum for all our kids, have a place for them to go, and provide training so that our volunteers can feel confident. We also plan on setting up a support group for our families so they do not get lost in everything. It is so important that people understand and have a heart for our children who so often cannot communicate their needs. It is also VERY important that these parents have a voice and are not forgotten because in all honesty they live closer to God than anyone can ever hope to!

As the parents of special needs children we are in continual prayer for patience and guidance. We are continually looking to Him to direct our paths, lead people to us who we can talk to, support, lean-on, and also befriend our child who wouldn't otherwise have a friend! Every day we look at the face of God through our special children and wonder what we will be taught and how they will amaze us! Yet so many times we have no voice because our children often have broken down before the eyes of many and we are judged because of what we may or may not do, how we parent them, and the style in which it's done. So often it feels as though no one cares and this will no longer take place! No one should have to feel dismissed and/or worthless! To make sure this no longer happens our journey will continue because we are scared to death to stop trying!

We will begin to partner with community organizations to raise awareness in our community, train local businesses to create jobs for our kids as well as train the kids/adults on their new positions. We will change the way people think about our kids, so that our kids will have the life they deserve.

It is my hope that one day we can look back and be amazed at how far we've come and what our children can now do. I hope that I will find others with the same inspiration who I can work with to make our vision and passion come true.