EVERY special needs mom has thought this, said this, prayed this at some point.  It’s human nature to wonder why something so unusual, so challenging, so beyond the norm, would befall me.  What did I do to deserve this? Why would God think I could handle this? Why can’t I just have normal stuff happen to me and my family?

Asking “why” doesn’t make me a bad person. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to have a child with special needs.  It just means I wish I could understand what God sees in this situation.  I don’t know your story, but I have good news – I can answer your “why”.  It’s because there is something great to be accomplished on the earth, and having a special needs child (or whatever your “why” situation) is the catalyst for the greatness.

Over the years, I found that my “why” propelled me to become a writer/blogger/speaker and encourager of other moms.  I could spend all day listing the wonderful, miraculous things that have occurred because of Nick’s presence in my life, my family, and my community!   More recently, I have discovered a new, bigger “why” which I want to share with you today.  I am planning my first-ever mission trip to Haiti, to spread the love of God to parents and caregivers of special needs children in the third world.

In October I will leave my comfy, cozy life in Florida and travel to Haiti.  My heart is so moved by the plight of caring for a special needs child in an impoverished and diseased land, that I can no longer stay complacent.   God has connected me with a ministry that serves families of special needs children.  Not orphans, which is much more the normal circumstance for a child born with disability in Haiti, but families who have rebelled against common perceptions  and are raising their child.  click here to visit their website & see for yourself!

I can guarantee you that I would not ever have become an encourager of parents, an advocate for special needs, and definitely not a missionary to Haiti, were it not for my son Nicolas.  You see, over the years God has rearranged my heart over my head.  He has shifted my priorities and perspective of the world in such a profound way through Nicolas.  He had to do it to accomplish something greater through me than I was capable of if he had left me as I was.

I see the “why” so obviously now.  It’s a no-brainer in hind-sight.  And now that I know there was a such a great answer to the “why”,  I am running in pursuit of discovering all the answers!  I am excited to find more and more reasons, like buried treasure along my path.  I am certain that this week-long adventure to Haiti is only the beginning of more great things that God can use me for.

On my trip I’ll be taking brand new flip flops to all the parents, care-givers, and teachers of the students.  Such a simple gift.  Seems almost insignificant to us here in the US, but apparently flip flops are the shoe of choice in Haiti, and they wear out quickly when you walk many miles each day on gravel and dirt roads.   My goal is to collect 150 pairs of flip flops to take and distribute, while I visit with each family, and reaffirm their commitment to their children, and encourage them that through Christ they can keep going.  I look forward to sharing with them that God has a special plan for them, and they also have a “why” to discover!

Your “why” will most likely be very different than mine but I do know that God can and will accomplish something great in your situation if you have the courage to let him!

If you would like to participate in my flip flop drive, please click here for all the details of what and where to send!!! Thanks 🙂

This picture, of a sweet lady bathing a child with special needs, is probably what pushed me off the sofa and into the mission field. The stark contrast between this and my son’s state-of-the-art disability access shower is beyond words.