Blessings Continued

I have a friend who is on staff at a church. He struggles sometimes because it is such a thankless job and after a while that can get to almost anyone. Beyond it being thankless, it is lonely and often most of his efforts are supported only by words, if that. Recently, he was venting to me and I have to admit that instead of reminding him of all the positive things he has told me about his church before, I encouraged his negative take on things. It was only later that I realized how thankless I had been, not only in my approach to his struggles, but also in my approach to our struggle. We have much to be thankful for. Granted, our daughter is dying. But God has placed so many people in our lives and provided for our needs in amazing ways in response to this situation. Jennifer Neary is our “Early Interventionist” from the Department of Disabilities and Special Needs (SCDDSN) and she always goes above and beyond what it takes to provide Macayla with services and resources. She’s not in it for the money, that’s for sure! She’s here because she actually cares for Macayla and us. If you are a special needs family and are not involved with your local disability board, I would check it out. We have been blessed by multiple church families in Anderson and Greenville who have been praying for us, providing meals, and even services around the home. We have neighbors who look out for us, our home, and even our yard! Our family has provided support and love by caring for Macayla and us. My wife’s parents take care of the kids for us once a week so that we can get some sleep or have a date night. Sometimes they or my mom may come over and watch the kids or just do the dishes and laundry because I’m too busy with the kids to get that done. We have received financial support. My dad and step-mom have helped out with building a wheelchair ramp in our garage. I can’t imagine going through what we are without family and friends to help us out. I know that there are some people in the world who go through it alone. Further, I can’t imagine going through what we are without Christ. His presence is real and He is an ever present help. Sometimes He let’s us know his presence in our quiet moments of solitude, and sometimes He let’s us know His presence while family or friends are doing laundry, providing meals or taking care of Macayla. Through all of this, there is so much to be thankful for. It is easy to get caught in the negative. To be sure the bad things that are happening to Macayla are real and they will not simply vanish with positive thinking. But dwelling on those things can blind us to the very real blessings that we experience everyday. Thank you to my “church-staff” friend for reminding me of that. We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared in advance so that we could walk in them. Thank you to so many who are walking in those good works!