Of Slavery and Sovereignty

May 7, 2013 6 Comments

I love the story of Joseph. Recorded in Genesis 37-50, it tells of the unusual journey of one of Israel’s greatest leaders. Loved of his father, hated by his brothers, servant of Potiphar, and ultimately second to Pharoah, Joseph’s journey was anything but typical.

The injustices recorded in Joseph’s life are numerous. He was sold into slavery by his brothers, lived as a servant to Potiphar in a foreign land, accused of rape by Potiphar’s wife, imprisoned for years … can we just acknowledge the reality? Joseph’s life was hard.

Ultimately God raised Joseph to be second in command to Pharoah and used him to save all of the children of Israel (and the Egyptians) from severe famine and starvation.

Somehow through all the suffering God was molding Joseph into the leader He intended him to be.

I love what Joseph says in Genesis 50: 20, “You meant it for evil but God meant it for good….”

As a mom of an often misunderstood child with a hidden disability, I have to cling to this truth about God. God is so great in His sovereignty that He can take the worst things that man can dish out and somehow bring good from them. We see it in Joseph’s life. We see it in Jesus life. We look with hope to see it in our children’s lives.

I am sure there were moments of discouragement in Joseph’s life. Moments of despair. Somehow through it all, Joseph maintained perspective of God’s greatness.

So today, as I ponder some of the challenges in my son’s life from school struggles to friendship woes, I cling to our great God — Who is so great in His sovereignty that He can take the worst man can dish out and make it beautiful.

Loving this great God,

Shannon

Filed Under: Hidden Disabilities, Scripture, Shannon Royce Tagged With: ,

Transitions

April 2, 2013 2 Comments

God will direct your stepsWe are in a year of transitions in the Royce household. Our older son is a senior and finishing his high school career. The final college decision will be made before I write my next post here. Wow. Can it possibly be true that all the preparation for launch is about to come to an initial culmination? I know there are stages of transition for most kids, particularly those with any special needs.

Our son is a pretty amazing young man. Diagnosed in second grade with a complex and challenging disability picture, he has worked diligently through 10 more years of school. I have often asked the Lord why He made this child with such intricate uniqueness. How is that possible? I have never understood it though I came to accept it years ago.

He has been accepted at two schools and awaits news from a third. And now it is decision time. Where does the path lead to take him to the adulthood for which we have stewarded him these 18 plus years? Only the Lord knows at this moment. We continue to pray.

The truth is, as is often the case, there is such mixed emotion. I am so proud of all he has accomplished in the challenging circumstances the Lord has given him. He is so remarkably resilient, strong, and compassionate. But I wonder about these next steps and how he will manage on his own at college. We have had to advocate strongly getting his unusual needs met. In these last two years I have moved from advocate to coach to prepare him to be ready to advocate for himself at college. And soon, he will launch.

Truth be told, I often wonder if we have done enough. Isn’t that the universal Mom question? We have invested our time, money, prayers, energy, and every other conceivable possibility over 18 years and yet I still wonder. I go to the Lord with my doubts and wonderings and fears of whether we have done the right things and enough of them. And He reassures me that He is bigger than any preparation we could have done. He is really the one preparing this young man for the purposes for which He created him. He is the one of whom Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

And I read this for my son: “For Caleb is His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that Caleb would walk in them.”

Truth. Breath out anxiety. Breath in grace.

This is the same God whose resurrection we just celebrated. He was powerful enough to raise Christ Jesus from the dead. Certainly He is able to care for this boy of my womb, this man of His making. He is able and He will do it.

Even in a year of transition.

Warmly,

Shannon Royce

Filed Under: Hidden Disabilities, Learning Disability, Shannon Royce, Transitions, Uncategorized

Jesus is the Lord Who Comes

March 5, 2013 2 Comments

Take heart, have no fear, it is I This journey with hidden disability can be long at times.  And wearing.  I find the need for regular encouragement from the Lord.  He is so faithful to provide it.

This morning as I had my devotionals, my New Testament reading was in Mark 6.  Verses 45-52 say this:

45 Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. 47 Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. 48 He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, 50 because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

Oh my.  There is so much about this passage that comforts me.  Notice the things Jesus did for them.

  • Jesus made them get into the boat to go to the other side.
  • He went to the mountain to pray.
  • He saw them straining at the oars.
  • He went out to them.
  • He spoke to them, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
  • He climbed into the boat with them.

In this journey with hidden disability I find regular times when the circumstances seem to be rocking my world – the boat I am in seems destined to be overrun with the waves.  I find myself straining at the oars, trying to keep the boat moving to the other side.

And along comes Jesus.  Isn’t He wonderful?  He sees me in my boat, straining at the oars.  He comes to me and speaks peace to me.  Then, as if all of that isn’t good enough, He climbs into the boat with me.

We are not alone in this journey because we share it with other families.  But more important even than that – we are not alone in this journey of parenting special kids because Jesus sees us.  He comes to us.  He speaks to us.  He climbs into our boat.

And that makes my heart so glad.  He is so gracious to us.  He knows our human frailty.  And He loves us.

We are not alone.

–Shannon Royce

Don’t forget to vote for Not Alone in the About.com Readers Choice Awards. You can vote every day until the contest ends March 19th! Finalist

Filed Under: Hidden Disabilities, Scripture, Shannon Royce, Uncategorized

Of Meltdowns and Mothering

February 5, 2013 14 Comments

There are those moments that teach lessons forever. Moments so indelibly etched in my memory that they have become part of my core understanding. For me, one of those moments came years ago in a store in late afternoon. You know those moments. Most Moms have experienced them. But for most Moms, they end when your children are 3 or 4. For parents of children with hidden disabilities, those moments can extend much later in life.

Get the picture: I am with my boys, then 5 and 8. I have unloaded my basket on the conveyer belt and am waiting for my items to be rung up. The boys are together and then it happened — a tussle began. Only, this was no ordinary tussle — I could tell it was going to be a doozy. My older son was becoming more and more agitated and his voice was rising to a deafening crescendo. I was trying all of the normal things to diffuse the circumstances to no avail — separate children, speak calmly, remind of “inside voice” and consequences to follow, don’t lose my cool, etc. You have been there.

But this day there was no comfort and the meltdown became full blown. Heads were turning, eyes were piercing me from every direction. I could feel the judgment. I could hear the wondering why I did not get control of my child.

I breathed a quiet prayer, “Oh God, I am so embarrassed” sure that He would understand and have some kind word of comfort.

The words I heard next have rung in my ears repeatedly for years now. Not words of comfort but of rebuke, “I hung naked on a cross for you. Look at your son!”

I was stunned but in a flash it all made sense. Why was I worried about what these people thought of me? I would likely never see them again. They did not know our story. And probably, they would not care.

Of course, all of this happened in a moment, in an instant of time.

I turned my attention to my son who was still screaming full volume. I took his face in my hands to get his attention. “Sweetie, we will leave in just a minute. Could you please go stand in front of the cart and I will finish here?” To my amazed gratitude, he obeyed.

I paid for my items, gathered my things, and got us out of that store.

I will never forget that moment. It was a real life changer for me. One of those that has come up over and over in my mind as the years have passed (now a full decade). I am the mother of THIS BOY and his brother. They should be my focus of concern. If others do not understand, why should that concern me? If God is pleased with my mothering, who else matters?

Resting in the Audience of One,

–Shannon Royce

Filed Under: Hidden Disabilities, Shannon Royce Tagged With:
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 10,256 other followers

%d bloggers like this: