The Holy Spirit Brings The Zoo Train

We waited at the Train Depot for the little train to arrive last week. The conductor, an elderly gentleman who had a precious smile, punched a whole in my special needs son’s ticket. My son was jumping up and down excitedly patting me, “urry! Mom! Icket!”

I reached into my pack and pulled out my ticket for the man, and he punched a whole in it. Then the man patted my son, all the while beaming at him.

Whoo! Whoo!

My eight-year-old little special needs boy, who does not act like a typical child, is completely undone over a train ride. He half drags me, and half runs ahead to get on the train. He quickly shows his ticket to the conductor at the gate, and then makes sure I show mine. He picks the closest seat, talking the whole time about the conductor

When we got onboard the train, he watched the birds, the river, screamed in the tunnel, and rode over 2 bridges around our city zoo. We even had several stops, where we were given the option to stay on the train, or get off, and visit a museum or the Japanese Gardens. Yet, we stayed on the train, waiting at each stop with anticipation. It was pure 8-year-old excitement!

The Holy Spirit train

Say what you will, but we cannot, no matter how smart we think we are, follow God’s will in our flesh. We can follow the doctor’s orders. We can follow an association’s idea of how our child’s special needs should be treated. We can follow the mental health professionals. But He is the Great Physician and Healer, and knows all.

Sometimes He hurries up the Holy Spirit train of healing. But, I can tell you from experience that it won’t happen unless we align ourselves with His will, submitting our hearts before Him. Sometimes, we are the soil that God must remove the stumps and rocks from, composts us, and prepares us for growth. Yet, when we trust in that stage, and stop fighting it, we will be better prepared to enrich the seeds that are planted to grow.

We followed the doctor's directions

Who were we? We didn’t know what to do!

We filled him with medications, 9 to be exact. Took him to the hospital when he got sick with pneumonia…3 times he was hospitalized. He had 2 surgeries for his severe sleep apnea. He was on growth hormone injections for his low muscle tone. He also had a synergis injections during the cold and flu seasons for the first 3 years, then the fourth year he was accidentally exposed to the RSV virus, and was in intermediate care for 4 days.

When, we discovered his allergies, thanks to a leading of the Holy Spirit through one young doctor, a miracle occurred. First the prescriptions dropped to 5, and then to 1. Finally, we dropped the injections, and for the next 3 years, our son did nothing but improve. 

Currently, he rarely gets sick, and I have found more and more that good nutrition in conjunction with the Holy Spirit is the answer!

Yes, there are things that come up, but always there is something practical that can be done outside of medications!

I changed things that year

Well, it was something like, the Lord pressed down on my heart when my son became mysteriously and persistently ill, and I had to figure it out because the doctors couldn’t. 

There was something about hours and hours of getting up with my son in the middle of the night, and not getting enough sleep. It pushed me to pray, and pray, and pray some more. 

I prayed a lot because I simply did not know what to do at first. My thought was if the doctors don't know what to do, then how in the world am I going to know? 

Then, in the middle of the night one night, it came to me. I realized my son's current issues came from a food allergy. I mean, how simple is that? 

Step by step the Holy Spirit showed me, and I don’t want to go back. 

I give full credit to God.

My son's health only got better and better, while I changed and tweaked his diet. He came down with fewer colds and complained less and less of stomach ailments. 

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Isaiah 11:2

Originally published 2/26/2012 

The Holy Spirit Has The Answers to Our Problems

My special needs son is obsessed with puzzles. He would, from an early age, take multiple small puzzles apart at the same time, and then put them all back together again. Ask him to put a larger puzzle together, with small pieces, and he struggles. The connecting pieces are too many and solving the puzzle became too complicated for him.

We have several Melissa & Doug puzzles that have large pieces and my son loved them when he was small. He completed them individually. and his interests surface with the types of puzzles that he chooses. Tinker Toys are also a puzzle-type passion, as he spends hours creating wheels, towers, and crosses.

Puzzles show us that things fit together.  What puzzles teach our child is that things connect in a certain order, and in a certain way. If you try to force pieces that do not fit together, the shape will not fit, and the picture will not match. In the human-created world, that is truth.

God’s puzzles are different.

He makes things like DNA and biological processes; He even creates genetic differences. He created the heavens and the earth, which all move in cycles that fit together in a fashion that only He can replicate.  

He designed living plants, trees, and animals to have offspring so that the new can fulfill His will.  He has puzzles that are complicated and detailed way beyond the human imagination. Yet, we are still looking for human answers.

Scientists try to re-create the human systems of genetics and cells; however, they spend a lifetime doing it. They are seeking cures to help people, but only Yahweh knows the answers. We can only catch a snapshot of wisdom because only God knows the whole picture. 

We humans, created by our Creator, only see the puzzle pieces scattered on the floor. We persist in praying for answers; I put my trust and hope in God, first and foremost, even to show us new treatments, and solutions to His puzzles.

That is easy to say when you are hurting.

Sometimes when I think about my son, I cry…and cry…and cry. The tears come like a flood. I know God created my son, my Angel Boy, but there are seasons when life is so difficult for him. 

He struggles to control his behavior, his insatiable hunger drives him, his lack of speech gets in the way, etc. A parent might ask why God would make a child this way.

We must stand firm in Christ no matter how we feel. When we need answers or feel overwhelmed with our child's diagnosis.  Even if we have a mustard seed of faith, the LORD will grow it into a tree. It is when everything feels like it is falling apart that we bring it before Him, and listen for His holy will.

God is calling us to put the puzzle together His way.

We don’t know if they will be able to go to the Prom or get married, and they probably won’t have children, although some have. We fear their futures. Where are they going to live, and how are they going to survive? Will they be able to make a living, or hold down a job? Who will take care of them when we are gone?

We all have trials and troubles. We suffer, have illnesses, cry out to God, and pray for relief from our oppressors.  The LORD responds by gifting us with the treasures of the Holy Spirit to equip and build up the Church. He gives us the full armor of God to keep us yoked with the righteous, and battle the evil attacks of the enemy.

Yes, many of us feel like we have arrived in Holland, but He has called us to use the very same weapons to assist us in the care of our children. He entrusted them to us so that we can provide for their needs and He will save us all from the devil’s wrath. No, it will never be the normal parent/child relationship. Yes, it will require more and longer responsibilities from us. But, the LORD will give us the strength we need to endure to the end.

Stand firm, therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness.  As for shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one.  Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Ephesians 6:14-17

Originally published on 2/5/2012