tackling "GOLIATH"

Tackling "Goliath"... fighting the surge of thoughts & emotions in dealing with some of the behaviors our Autistic son struggles with.  "Courage does not always roar.  Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, "I will try again tomorrow." -Mary Anne Radmacher

Right now, Devyn is struggling terribly with his eating disorder...here are some blips of our lives that we updated our facebook friends with... "Oh Mr. Devyn, I ache to figure out what is causing all of your struggle these last few days. Praying for guidance & wisdom for the increased behaviors, wandering, self-limiting diet, self-injury, pica, & unexplained fevers."   More recently we posted... "Our situation with Devyn unfortunately has not improved. He has actually severely limited his diet to cereal only, refuses to drink anything with even the minutest amount of supplements in it (needed to improve the deficiencies) & pica has increased. Monday we see the doctor to make a game plan. We are praying to avoid the feeding clinic or anything drastic, & hoping for dramatic improvement in the meantime. Please continue to pray for guidance, wisdom, & strength."

Kathy Medina writes in her devotional book "Finding God in Autism"..."The pain that came to our hearts when our son was diagnosed with autism was so strong it captivated my mind for about one & a half years. We are held captive by anything that keeps us from living the life God wants for us. I was captivated because it paralyzed me from moving forward. Autism not only invaded our son, it invaded our entire family, our entire life. It wreaked havoc with our finances, our time, our home, our friendships, our jobs...in fact it is so pervasive, there was not any part of our lives which it did not affect. In many ways, Satan won for a while."  I can strongly relate to where she is in this statement...mine was called "The Mess of 2008", an earlier post on this blog.  The info. below helped so much in making me aware & choosing positive coping. 

Accepting the stages of grief & utilizing spiritual resilience to cope & move on. 
Military & special needs families are no strangers to the stages of grieving & recognizing some stages are more severe than others, depending on the situation, or they can be very minimal. I am not leaving out that people outside these groups experience these things just the same, but like I said I am relating to what I have experienced.

There are 5 basic stages:
1. shock/denial- numbing your emotions to avoid pain.
2. pain/guilt- as shock & denial wear off the effects of pain, & thoughts of what did I do wrong,
                      or what could I have done better set in.
3. anger/bargaining- blame, the why me's, & trying to bargain with a higher power
4. depression/reflection/loneliness- sad reflection of what was or could have been, & possibly lead to despair & isolation
5. acceptance/hope- learning to be content with what is & accept it, & finding hope to move forward.

Which leads to Spiritual Resilience (what makes life worth living/life animators): Honestly, I connected with the pre-deploy & reintegration trainings through the military, Hooah!!. I really like the condensed, simple break down of our last deployment training because regardless of religion we can all relate to spirituality (understandings & beliefs that enable coping, comfort, & meaning).
He called it "The Big 5 Inventory":
1. "Forgive me"- owning up
2. "Forgive you"- let go of resentment
3. "Thank you"- counting blessings
4. "I love you"- acknowledging what is important
5. "Good bye"- let go of what you can't control

can't be reminded enough: 
Philippians 4:6-7

New International Version (NIV)

⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

check out Mercy Me's song "Move":
www.godtube.com/watch/?v=FJJEJCNU