Today a Break from Our Regularly Scheduled Program

I know, I know my post today is supposed to be "Wednesdays At My House" where I talk about the organization of my house but, there really isn't anything to discuss on that front. I did organize my daughter's toys last week but that's about it. And I have something much more important on my mind.

April is Autism Awareness Month and Children of Destiny launched a prayer campaign today for children with autism called Turning the Tide. As a parent of a child with autism I can tell you it's a devastating diagnosis that makes everything in a family harder. Even though my son, Bear, is considered "high functioning" his autism is still a dark cloud over our family. I know that many parents with disabled children somehow find the silver lining in the disability and are even thankful that it's something God brought into their lives. I will be honest, I hate autism and I would do just about anything, that wasn't a sin, to heal my son. The day we received his diagnosis I felt like he had died. I struggle all the time to have a relationship with Bear through the autism he buried under. I cry for him because he is often swirling in confusion as the connections in his brain are so crossed sometimes. I see no silver lining in the autism cloud, it's the worst thing that has ever happened to our family. Have I been blunt enough? It's just plain awful.

That being said about my personal experience, it's not just happening to my family. Autism is a worldwide epidemic. This morning on "Good Morning America" I heard it reported that the UK is now reporting 1 in 60 children and 1 in 38 boys are being diagnosed with autism. I believe when they do another count here in the US our numbers will be close to that as well. It's just EVERYWHERE and nobody on this earth knows why. But I am confident our Heavenly Father knows why and how we can 1) help the kids effected by autism and 2) stop this condition from stealing our children. That is one of the reasons Children of Destiny exists, to encourage people to pray for those with autism and their families. I get a daily email on how to pray for Bear and today the email included information on Turning the Tide a month long prayer campaign for our kids and autism. If you feel led, please join us! We truly need God's help to fight this battle.