a sweet encounter.

A sweet encounter for me this week:
I was working at the clinic and there was a new volunteer there.  I was busy doing my own thing (working HARD, I'm sure.) and she introduced herself to me by saying that she had overheard my conversation with another gal about Levi.  She continued saying that she knew our situations were different but she had just had a very hard meeting that morning at her son's school.  The school district had that morning officially labeled her son as "opposition defiant" and this nice single mom was devastated.  Completely devastated.

She went on to tell me of all her struggles with him.  Her fears.  The challenges.  Her heart.  She poured it out to me.  She desperately loves her son and she is completely overwhelmed by everything that has to do with him.  The road ahead with him looks very bleak and daunting.

For the most part, all I did was listen.  And really the only advice I had to give her was to LEAN hard into the Lord.  I don't even know if she knows Jesus but I know that for these things, He is the only answer to the parts that are the hardest:  the fears.

Indeed, our situations are very different.  But at the core level of our issues with our sons, our hearts connected.  Most people don't  know what it feels like to have a child who is "different", to feel completely overwhelmed by the fears of every day in the the future with your child, to be convinced that God has given you way more than you can handle, to know that the world looks at your son like he is crazy, to be judged as a parent because of your child's behavior, to know that you don't have enough time to get all the education and therapies and HELP that your child NEEDS.....etc, etc, etc. But she and I, we know these feelings...and they are HARD.

After a sweet conversation with her, I walked back into my little room and the tears began to flow.  God whispered in my ear, "See what I have brought you through.  I have carried you through those very hard first few months.  You used to be where she is at today.  And now look at your heart!  The fears are GONE!  You don't care what the world thinks of your precious son!  You love him more than you ever thought possible.  And this is just the beginning.  You don't worry about his future, now you are excited for it because you know I have got total control of it!  I have healed you.  I love you.  Trust me."  Oh, I was sooo in awe of Him.  Oh, God is sooooooooo amazing!

This new volunteer showed up that morning to work on this random project that our clinic needed some help on.  But I have no doubt that her and I working together that morning was planned by our sovereign God.  If for nothing else, I got an amazing glimpse at the powerful things He has been doing in my heart.

God is soooooooooooooooooooo worthy of ALL PRAISE!!!!!!!!!!!  To Him alone be all glory!