Stay in the Boat

3:22 am.

My son woke us all up with a start at 3:22am this morning.

It’s not his fault. His autism can really mess up his sleep cycle. Not to mention he can’t tell time, so when he wakes up he assumes it is time to get up. There is no rolling back over and going back to sleep.

Sleeping in for him means making it past 5:45 on a good morning.

Right now we are in a season where his vocal stemming is out of control. So when he wakes up, the party begins!

I don’t mind getting up early in the morning at all. However, I would like for it to at least be “in the morning.” 

We are having one of those weeks those of you with children with special needs know full well. We are dealing with getting fitted for new braces on his legs and feet, trying to get a referral appointment to a GI doctor, his sleep issues, school is out for the summer and we both work, and on and on. This week it just seems like challenges are cropping up and piling on every day.

You can relate. This journey takes its toil emotionally, physically, financially, and relationally. You can get brittle, and fragile very easily.

So you crawl into bed exhausted, too tired to think, unable to decompress at all, and wondering what on earth is going to happen next.

How do you survive? How do you hold on?

For me there a couple of things I do. I have had to condition myself to just take it one day at a time. It’s really that simple. Live life one day at a time or else it will get overwhelming. Jesus himself even said do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have its own troubles!

Just laugh. Even when you don’t feel like laughing, laugh anyway. If you don’t learn to laugh about life, you will stay miserable. Laughter lightens the load, breaks the tension, and soothes the hurting.

Remember it’s not about you. God is telling his story through your life. The story of your life isn’t even about you. He chose you and has called you. He has equipped you and given your life a plan and a purpose.

Your struggles, your pain, and your challenges may be setting a huge stage for God to show His glory in triumph. The parts of your life that bring you the most pain may just be the parts He intends to use the most.

Sometime God allows what He hates so that he can accomplish what He loves.

Remember that He is the God who fights for you. “Don’t be afraid or discouraged. I am the God who goes before you and I will fight for you.” (Deuteronomy 1:29-30). So stop right now and ask God to fight for you in your specific need at this moment.

 What do you do when the waves are crashing, the winds are howling, and the rain threatens to capsize you?

 Stay in the boat my friends. Stay in the boat.