God's presence Archives - Do Not Depart

God and Special Needs

May 20, 2016 by Caroline 3 Comments

Note: I’ll speak in this post from the perspective of a mother of a child with multiple medical and developmental special needs. This perspective is not meant to be all-encompassing. You may feel the same way about some aspects and very different about others. My hope is that we can find common, encouraging ground together within faith and special needs, or that this post may help increase empathy and understanding and hope through a look into a world that may not be your own.

When you parent a child with special needs (or have special needs yourself), you might be used to having to think of many tiny parts that affect the whole of your child’s health and wellness or breaking down scenarios ahead of time for a successful day.

Can we go to this new friend’s house? We can’t if they smoke or if there’s a wood-burning fireplace in use.

What do I need to bring to help reduce noise and sensory irritation for my child at this function?

My child has multiple food allergies and we’ll be gone x amount of time, and so we need to pack this, this, and this for nutrition.

When my husband and I make a new choice for our son (whether it’s about schooling, about food, about medications, about sensory stuff, or just about how many activities in an afternoon), we are rarely flippant. Even if we only have five minutes to decide something, we put significant thought and consideration to how to help him both grow independently as well as be in safe, healthy environment.

Basically, parents of children with special needs have to question or consider all. the. things.

It can be draining. Confusing. Exhausting.

But, these situations and the constant state of alert we have to be in has also, at times, heightened our awareness to consider all the ways God is present.

God is in my boy’s smile, even while he sits in a hospital.

He is in the hearts of community members who act as His hands and feet and offer help or even just genuine understanding and consistent prayer.

He is in the wisdom and hands of trustworthy doctors who care about our son as a person, not just a medical challenge.

He is in the therapists we were matched with to become guides for my son and sources of support, encouragement, and friendship for me.

He is in the perseverance and loving heart I see in my son daily.

He walks with us in our path of discovering which ‘friends’ might not be true friends, and deepening relationships of those who willingly walk through life with us.

He is in the refining we constantly undergo to grow more, learn more, love more. (God shows us that we don’t change the special needs, the special needs change us.)

God is there in the storm and the calm, the hard and the good — every moment, whether we feel Him or not, see Him or not.

I asked my husband how he would answer the question, “Where is God in special needs?”

His response? “There.”

God is there, and here, too.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39

Please share your experience of God’s presence in special needs in the comments below.

Depression – Remembering God’s Presence

October 13, 2015 by Ali Shaw 11 Comments

I’ll never forget the strange orange sky that night.

It was late and we were driving to the hospital. I was pregnant and near term with our third daughter, but our baby wasn’t moving. My husband and I drove mostly in silence.

Things were probably ok, right? But we were afraid to reassure each other.

That night, and the next day, ushered in a whole new world for us. This new world had the reality of a sweet baby girl who’d passed on to Jesus while still in the womb, open grief in the hospital bed, secret tears and sobs in hospital hallways, and funeral plans in place of plans to bring home baby.

And weeks and months after there was an aloneness.

Time moved on and I was supposed to, too. Everyone was patient and I was so blessed in that. But, it took time.

And at this deepest low, it took great faith. Thankfully, God was with me in the pit.

There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still. – Corrie Ten Boom

But the bad thing about being in the pit is that you can’t see well. It’s dark and vision is distorted, so you feel your way along. And when life hurts so much, there’s not much feeling there.

I remember, several months after our daughter was born, telling my husband, “I can’t feel God’s presence anymore. I feel so alone.”

He held me and let me cry.

And it was around that time that I started to look for God. Really, really look. And I found that although I couldn’t feel Him (because all I could feel was unbearable grief) it didn’t change the fact that He was there. God is ever with us. I started to read my Bible and Christian books about grief and spend more time in prayer. And slowly, God revealed Himself to me in new, unexpected ways.

He reminded me that it’s important to rely on Biblical truths and not only on what you feel.
He reminded me that when I was too weak to hang on, He would hang on to me.
He reminded me that I was never, ever alone.
And He reminded me how much He loved me.

As a result, a beautiful thing happened. My faith matured. It was a very painful journey, but I thank God for the lessons He allowed me to learn from that experience.

{Please understand, I’m not insinuating in any way that feeling depressed, or struggling with depression or deep grief is an indication of weak faith. I’m only expressing that God can be glorified even in the worst of situations.}

What the Bible says about God’s Presence

If you need some Truths to Hang On To, please be encouraged by these verses about God’s presence. (Any emphasis added is mine.)

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” – Isa 41:10

“When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.” – Isa 43:2

“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” — Psa 139:7-12

“Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all the remnant of the house of Israel, who have been borne by me from before your birth, carried from the womb; even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save. — Isa 46:3,4

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deut 31:6, NIV

And finally, these beautiful words from Isaiah are such an encouragement to me:

“In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.” (Isa 63:9, ESV)

See, our God hurts when we hurt and loves us so passionately that He never lets go—He carries us in His hands and stays with us, carrying us forward to hope, healing, and joy in His presence.

And that, dear friend, is truth you can hang on to!

How has remembering the fact of God’s presence helped you make it through difficult times?

Even when we feel alone, we must remember God is with us. #DepressionTruths

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Need to be reminded of God’s presence? Here are some verses to encourage you. #DepressionTruths

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I Dwell, He Strengthens (Run to Him – Psalm 84)

March 16, 2012 by Kathy Howard 12 Comments

Do you ever have a deep, intense craving? I often find myself drooling over the cartons of Blue Bell Ice Cream at my local grocery store. (If you aren’t familiar with Blue Bell, it may be because this creamy, decadent indulgence is only available in 20 states. But it’s worth moving to Texas for!)

No other kind of frozen treat will do. No other brand of ice cream will suffice. It must be Blue Bell and it must be a lot of Blue Bell.

In Psalm 84, the psalmist expresses a yearning that can only be satisfied by the presence of God. Nothing and no one else will satiate the deep longing of his soul. He is so desperate to be with God, he would trade 1,000 days of being anywhere else for just one day of being with the LORD.

In his book “Reflections on the Psalms,” C.S. Lewis calls this an “appetite for God.” Do we have an appetite for God that can only be satisfied in His presence?

According to biblical scholars, this psalm may have been sung by pilgrims on their way to the temple. Any Jews that lived outside Jerusalem made pilgrimages to the temple three times a year – for Passover, Feast of Tabernacles, and Pentecost. The temple symbolized God’s presence. These pilgrimages into the presence of God were considered rare and special. During the journey they anticipated the blessing and joy of once again being close to Yahweh.

You and I don’t have to travel long distances or wait for months to enter His presence. As believers we can enjoy constant communion with our holy God. His presence is a place of safety and security. Like the sparrow who built a nest near the altar, the LORD Almighty welcomes and protects the lowly and weak.

As I studied this psalm, I was impacted by the transforming power of God’s presence. Just this one chapter alone shows us at least three ways His nearness satisfies our longings.

When we are vulnerable, He makes us safe and secure.
When we are weak, He fills us with His strength.
When we have need, He provides in abundance.

I particularly love verse 7:

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Our lives are a pilgrimage to heaven where we will finally see our Savior face-to-face. Meanwhile, He brings us “from strength to strength,” giving us what we need to take that next step of obedience, whetting our appetites for the full and glorious revelation of His presence.

What does your soul yearn for? Have you tasted the sweet presence of God? Do you long for more?