“Show Eddie the ball!”  This is a frequent exhortation around our house because Eddie, our 12-pound terrier mix, often loses his ball while chasing it around the yard. So Grace, our brainy border collie/ laborador retriever, is often tasked with helping her brother find it. She listens to our command, perks up her ears, and immediately finds the ball and nudges it with her nose into Eddie’s view so he will see it and retrieve it. Often Grace will just do this on her own without our command. She picks up her own ball first and then races back to show Eddie his. Sometimes she has to point out the ball several times before Eddie retrieves it. She will patiently show it to him again and again, until he finally finds and gets the ball. It’s a sweet sight.

This scenario reminds me of what we do as parents with our children, again and again. And, in a spiritual sense, it’s what God does for us (but I’ll get to that in a minute). 

In a physical way, we help our kids pick up or find “the ball” when they drop or misplace it.
They forget their lunch, lose their homework, fight with their siblings, and throw temper tantrums– dropping the proverbial ball over and over.  Children with neurobiological challenges such as autism, ADHD, anxiety, depression or other conditions may “drop the ball” more often.  They may seem sloppy, unorganized, forgetful, have poor social skills or difficult behavior.  We need to patiently point out better ways of handling problems or more efficient ways of doing things.  They may not follow our directions for a variety of reasons related to ability or will.

I know this isn’t easy. It is hard to be patient, day after day, pointing out the same thing over and over, especially when our kids seem to ignore the good advice or opportunities we present. 

It can make us want to blow– and sometimes we do.

That given, still we are called to extend grace to our kids in spite of the challenges. It’s then that we need to step back and look again for “the ball” that God is showing to us.  If we pay attention, we will see that He points us to His wisdom, blessings and rest.

Sometimes we don’t receive the blessings He gives because we are too busy running off in a direction we think is best. And, sometimes the blessings are hidden among the challenges in our lives.

Over the years of parenting children with special needs, some of the blessings God has shown me are that I can have peace in chaos, hope in disappointment, and even joy while waiting for situations to improve.  These things are not easily found. God has had to show them to me again and again until my eyes were trained to find them myself.

I missed out on some of the peace, hope and joy on many occasions early in my days of special- needs parenting.  I was too busy running around willy- nilly trying to find the blessings through my own means. Just this week I faced  disappointment, pain, and unfulfilled dreams.  I spent some time scanning the grass and first saw the weeds instead of  the “ball of blessings”.

But now I know that the ball is there.  In time, like Eddie, I will find it because God’s Grace will keep pointing to it again and again.

Soon we head into the season where we give thanks for our blessings.

Even if you cannot always clearly see your blessings, know they exist and keep your eye out for God’s Grace to show you.