Amy J. Brown [0:00]
Welcome to Season 3 of Take Heart. We have exciting things coming this season, so we don't want you to miss an episode. Believe it or not, our 100th episode is coming on September 27th, and we are having a big giveaway to celebrate. Listen in next week to get the details.
Welcome to Take Heart, where our goal is to offer encouragement, give hope and insight, so you can flourish in your journey as a special needs mom. As we explore monthly themes, share inspiring stories, and practical tips, our desire is for you to feel connected and encouraged. If you hear anything today that inspires you, be sure to share this episode with a friend. All of our resources, including an entire written transcript of this show, is on our website at www.takeheartspecialmoms.com. You can also go to our show notes for any quick links to anything we mentioned during this episode. Thank you for joining us today.
[1:19] Welcome, I'm Amy J. Brown, and I am welcoming you to the third season of Take Heart. As we kick off this new season, we wanted to start by going back to the beginning to share with you the reason we do this and the importance of our name Take Heart. Take heart is mentioned several times in the Bible. Often it means to have courage. I would love to share with you one of the passages today, Deuteronomy 31:6, "Be strong and take heart, do not fear or be in dread of them. It is the Lord your God who goes with you, He will not leave you or forsake you." So I'm going to give you a little context of that first, that is Moses speaking. Moses is speaking to the Israelites as they're about to enter the Promised Land. Now, if you remember, Moses isn't going with them. He's been with them through all the heartaches, all the journeys for the last several years, and now he's sending them on without him. This is the thing he wants to tell them as they continue their journey. It's not going to be easy. They're still going to be some struggles, and he wants them to take heart or have courage. I love this translation from the message. It says, "Be strong, take heart. Don't be intimidated. Don't give them a second thought because God, your God is striding ahead of you. He's right there with you. He won't let you down and he won't leave you." The clear message here, especially for a Special Needs Moms is that even in the midst of a life with the unknowns and the scary moments, God does not leave us. He is there striding ahead of us. He is our God and our strength. This is a fact that he does not leave us, so we can take heart or have courage. Now, this isn't a grin and bare-it kind of feeling. It does not mean an absence of fear. There are so many times that we quake in fear. But to take heart is to know that no matter what, even in the worst moments, we can have courage because we're not alone. It's not a pretty sentiment. It's a fact that God does not leave us. He goes before us, so we can let our timid souls take heart no matter what.
[3:27] What does this actually mean to you? Well, if we were to sit across from each other and have a cup of tea or coffee, I know that we would share all the times when we've been afraid and taking heart was the last thing we felt like doing. I get it. I have so many stories in my life that have filled me with fear and broken my heart. Let me give you an example. Last fall, I was in my office working on our book. For those of you who don't know, we are writing a book which is coming out in May. Stay tuned for details on that. I had my phone on airplane mode because I was trying to get work done. I heard this really loud pounding on my door, and I was startled. I went to the door and was met by a policeman. He informed me that my child had made an attempt on her life at school. Since my phone was on airplane mode, the school could not get in touch with me and that is why they sent the police. I stood there in shock and panic. My heart was racing. The policeman assured me that my child was okay that physically they were able to deal with the overdose of medicine she took, but I was so afraid for the rest of it. This would require inpatient psychiatric care. This would require so many things I didn't know how to handle. I remember looking around my house thinking Where are my keys? What do I take to the hospital? I was so afraid at that moment, and I could not quell my fear. We all have moments like this as special needs moms, whether there are emergencies or the late nights where we lie in bed worrying about all the things that could go wrong. We live in fear. It is really difficult to take heart in those moments, but I don't think it's impossible. Often in moments of fear and anxiety when we don't know the outcome, we ask a lot of questions. We ask why, when, and how questions. Why? Why God, did you let this happen? When? When will you intervene or give us a break? This is one of my big ones. I want an easy year. Every year, I think when am I gonna get an easy year? Well, honestly, it's never happened. I've been a mom for 30 years. I've not had an easy year yet. Then we have how. How am I going to do this, or pay for this, or have the strength for one more day? Let me say this very clearly. It is okay to question God, he can handle it. It's okay to ask him why, when, and how.
[5:59] I think in the midst of those questions, we also need to reframe our questions and ask Where? Where is God? And then answer that with this truth: right here. He promised to never leave us or forsake us. On that long trip to the hospital with my mind racing. I asked all the questions. Why? Why did she do this? When will this nightmare end? How will we get her help? then I settled into my where; not where are you God, even though I've asked that a million times, but making the statement that God is with me right now, in this terrible situation. I don't know if you ever heard the phrase in real estate that it's all about location, location, location if you want to sell a house. Well, I would say that in times of fear, it's all about location. We can take heart when we remember the location of where God is. He is with us. He is striving ahead of you. He is right there with you, and he won't let you down and he won't leave you. It's not that God shows up because he's already there. We just need to turn our gaze on him. It's all about location.
[7:06] How can we practically take heart and have courage in the midst of the things in this life that scare us? How can we really remember that God is with us? I think part of it is the posture that we're taking. We have to decide whether we are going to expand or contract. Now contraction is when we cave in on ourselves, whether that's in fear, or we isolate ourselves, or we have numbing behaviors. In some cases, contraction is to be driven, which is my drug of choice. I can be driven and in control, thinking that I have to micromanage a situation. Now, contraction isn't always bad, it gives focus and direction and security and protection. But we can't stay there. We can't cave in and contract on ourselves and try to handle what is coming at us in life. The other posture we can take is to expand. Expansiveness accepts whatever comes, it's more open. Now, this is not a breezy go-with-the-flow. This takes courage. This requires you to take heart. This requires moving from the "no" of fear to the "yes" of love. The "no" of fear causes us to contract. It says I cannot do this. It is rooted in scarcity, in worst-case scenario thinking. Honestly, having your child overdose at school and go to the psych ward, is a pretty worst-case situation, but I couldn't stay there. I needed to have even a small yes to expand. We start by saying no to the worst-case scenarios and scarcity thinking, and no to the lie that we are all alone in this life. We have one small "yes", not out of fear, but grounded in love. On that date, on the way to the hospital, I allowed myself to expand. Now it took me a bit to get there. I took a deep breath, and I said a small yes of love. I said, "Yes, God, you are with me." This, my friends, is how we can take heart in our lives as special needs moms. Remember this God brings us under the shelter of His wings like a mother hen, and we know who we belong to. God draws nearer to us in our trembling. He walks ahead of us and he never leaves us. Therefore we can take heart.
[9:25] Here are some questions for you to consider as you think about taking heart. Are you expanding or contracting? What does contraction look like for you? Is it numbing behaviors, micromanaging, fear, or isolation? What circumstances are you facing right now that seem impossible for you to take heart and have courage? What is one small way you can say yes to love and God's presence? Finally, what small reminder can you give yourself to remind you that God is with you? Maybe that's a picture or a stone you picked up on the beach, or something tangible to remind you to take heart.