Year of Mercy Reflection

Friday, Jun. 17, 2016

“My grace is sufficient for you.”

Almost 22 years ago, our family was blessed with the unexpected birth of a special needs child. After a non-eventful pregnancy, he was born in need of immediate medical intervention on Christmas Eve. Yet Providence was with us, and the neo-natal team took over. We learned later that same day that he most likely had a syndrome that was indeed confirmed two weeks later. What a blessing, as with this came a course of action that would carry us through those initial years and beyond.

In addition to the multiple meals, prayers and support provided by so many at that time, we were given a story of a family that went on a trip to Italy, and got off the plane in Holland! After the initial shock, they began to appreciate the unexpected beauty of this foreign land, with its tulips, windmills, and clog shoes. 

This has become our experience, as the “tulips” in our lives took the form of various teachers, doctors, therapists, and others in the land known as “special needs.”

Additionally, Providence gave us the verse “My grace is sufficient for you, for when you are weak, then I am strong.” ( 2 Cor 12:9) 

As we embark on a new stage of transition with our son’s ensuing high school diploma, we are confident that God’s merciful hand will continue to be with us through the new individuals, services and decisions that will need to be made. We trust in Jesus, who said, “I will not leave you orphan.” (John 14:18)

Donna Masek

St. Mary Parish