Our New Normal

After six weeks of being separated from our sweet girl we are now starting to look toward the future, wondering what the "new normal" will look like. This week brought with it challenges and news and answers that, though we may have expected, we didn't really want. I talked about acceptance earlier in this process. We are now at that place. We must accept that our child suffers from mental illness in order to move forward. According to the internet, mental illness is a medical condition that disrupts a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life. It can affect persons of any age, race, religion or income and it is not the result of personal weakness, lack of character or poor upbringing. 

What does all of that really mean to us? It means that our daughter has specific needs that need to be met in order to lead a normal life. That she will have to work harder than the next gal at keeping her head above water when things are less than ideal. That as a family, we will all have to work harder at helping her stay on track, encouraging her and motivating her. She is our very special gift from God. We are so proud of her and we couldn't be happier to be her parents. We thank God every day for her, just the way she is.

They have made some changes to her medications and we are starting to see some real progress. God willing, we will be bringing our Smiles home in the next couple of weeks. Please pray for us as we try to figure out what the "new normal" with and for our girl will be like.  We know our God is good and we hold on to His promise to never leave us or forsake us! Thank you for your continued prayers and support.