Monday, May 3, 2010

When the odds are against you

The divorce rate for couples with special needs children is over 80%.

Over 80%. That is not very optimistic odds.

I understand why. This is hard. This is exhausting. This draining. This requires more effort than we think we have to give. We give all of our effort to our children. At the end of day, there is not much left.

The children need all of the care. All of the focus is on them. The children have all kinds of help through therapy, doctors, educators, etc.

What about the parents?

Many times, Jeremy and I have said to people that Brayden (Carter and Luke too) is well taken care of, we are the ones who need prayer and help.
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If you are a family with a special needs child...find support for your relationship with your spouse.
If you know a family with a special needs child...offer support to the parents. Pray, pray hard for those relationships.
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I talked with someone recently who is the process of getting a divorce. They have a special needs child. I cannot get them off my mind. I cannot stop thinking about the overwhelming odds against us. My heart hurts for them, for families in similar situations.
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You hope and pray that through trials and tough circumstances, relationships are solidified not torn apart.

3 comments:

Courtney said...

carrie...just so you know...we pray for YOU AND JEREMY almost every night. you are so right...and we love you all so much!

Wherever HE Leads We'll Go said...

You are so right. Marriage, in general, takes hard work! Add in extra stress and it really makes it tough! We really have to make a conscious effort to focus on us, as a couple, and that is not easy. There are so many other things to steal our attention away!

K said...

Thank you for the great reminder Carrie...praying.