You made every part of me. You made me grow inside my mother before I was born. I thank you for the wonderful way that you have made me. Everything that you do is wonderful!-P139:13
Hi Brides, this is going to be a 2-3 part testimony regarding my middle son with whom my Beloved also has a purpose. Which Erin has planted a seed to praise our HH because of these children with #GreaterBlessings. https://homegrownministries.com/sngb/
Before I had any children, I experienced three miscarriages. My fiancé and I were only engaged at the time, and I couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with not being married. I felt hopeless and worried I would never be able to have children. I have always known I wanted to be a mom since I was a child. I loved babysitting and babies in general. After my third miscarriage, they finally did some tests. They said she had down syndrome, which could have been the reason for the pregnancy's termination.
In 2001, my husband and I got married. The following year, I became pregnant again. When I found out, I fell to my knees and thanked God. I asked for a healthy pregnancy and for the baby to come to term. I even mentioned that we were now married and asked for a healthy child. A few months later, my husband left, saying he loved me but wasn't in love with me. I was devastated. That's when I first discovered RMI. My marriage has been restored twice, once in 2003 and recently in 2022. Despite the trials, God blessed us with three sons.
During my pregnancy with my middle son, everything seemed to go smoothly. I didn't get any genetic testing done, but I had gestational diabetes and had to be careful with my diet. I didn't notice anything unusual when he was first born. He was a bit slower to crawl and walk compared to my first son, but I took into account that my firstborn was an early walker at 9 months. Andrew didn't really speak, he just grunted. Many people, including doctors, said that this happens when children have older siblings who tend to speak for them. However, by the age of two, he could only say 3-4 words. We enrolled him in a speech program to help him communicate better. I was heartbroken because he was so defiant from no one understanding him and a lot of people would just say he was a brat. I prayed that the Lord would help him speak and help him not be upset and throw tantrums and that people would be able to understand him. It took a while, but now at 18 years old, he can speak, often quickly and he sometimes has trouble pronouncing certain letter sounds. I have to remind him to slow down, but most people can understand him.
When my son was about 3 years old, I noticed something strange. Sometimes, while he was playing or talking, he would suddenly stop and stare off into space with a dazed look in his eyes. This would last for 15-30 seconds, and then he would snap out of it and continue playing. I was worried, so I took him to the doctor, who referred us to a neurologist. I never thought it could be a neurological issue.
The news was heartbreaking. I was worried and went back to praying to the Lord, asking him to heal my child and prevent anything fatal from happening. He had MRIs and EEGs and was diagnosed with epilepsy. He had been having absent (silent) seizures but was diagnosed with generalized epilepsy, even though he hasn't had a convulsive seizure yet. He was started on meds which made him angry and again my prayer is that these seizures would stop and he would one day be off all the medicine. I was praising the Lord that he didn't have a tumor etc but was still fearful of the seizure diagnosis.
To be continued with how the Lord answered prayers and when he started Kindergarten.
Dear Hope, thank you for sharing your testimony, I know this will help other mothers who are going through the same. All children are blessings, no matter what challenges they face. They are fearfully and wonderfully made by their Heavenly Father, like the promise you shared.
Adina, I hope my testimony can help other mothers, even just one. All children are special and loved by God and we need to not fear their future and give it to our Beloved.
My dear Hope, thank you for sharing this!! Your journey is an inspiration! Our children have a bigger purpose in this life than we could ever imagine! This testimony will help a lot of moms who feel depressed or discouraged! Our children are blessings and the enemy sometimes wants to steal that joy from us! But if we trust in Our Beloved He will guide us and show us the blessing in each one of our heartbreaks!
Believe that Our beloved has a ministry for you, regardless of where you are in your life and in your walk with the Lord (1 Peter 4:10).
https://biblia.com/bible/niv/1%20Pet%204.10
While you lean on God to fill in your places of inadequacy, He will teach you who He is and who you are in Him. As you see to meeting the needs of hurting people, He will meet your needs in ways you will never comprehend!
This is so good, I can´t wait to read more
Hi Isabella 💕I hope it inspires someone. It’s difficult sometimes because we want to make sure our children would be safe without us. We should remember that He prepares our way and there is no need to fear for the future. Children are blessings, and He will guide us through the challenges we face.
You are a great mom!! You are doing a blessed work an ministry, He is holding your hand every step of the way!
Wow dear Hope, this first part has impacted me, I’m certainly looking forward to reading the next two parts of your testimony! Children are always a blessing! Sometimes we don’t understand why many of the things the Lord sends us to go through, but he knows what he does and his purposes are bigger than we think! Thank you for sharing, I will be attentive to the other two parts of your testimony!!
Anastasia, I’m thankful it had an impact. When I thought about my middle son’s future, it used to break my heart. I was afraid and wondered why he was chosen to be “special” while my older and younger sons would one day be able to live “normal” adult lives. He reminded me that we all have challenges and difficulties but that will give us the chance to trust God with our future. Children are truly a blessing, and His plans are always bigger than we can imagine.
Hope querida. Obrigada por partilhar isso comigo. Fiquei estremamente curiosa para saber o resto (eu continuo a ter as visões com você), pode ser que o Senhor queira nos mostrar algo especial 🔥💗
Hope, eu sempre quis ser mãe, eu tenho nome de cada um deles na minha boca, e eles ainda não vieram ao mundo.. vez ou outra o inimigo lança na minha mente (hum, isso não será mais possível, visto que você não é mais casada), como o poder da vida está na nossa língua, eu reproduzo tudo que nosso Senhor disse : Para Deus nada é impossível- Lucas 1:37 💜
Certamente o Senhor tem uma maravilhosa na vida dos seus pequenos, e ainda que um seja especial .. uso faz de você uma noiva mais Especial ainda, porque foi a você que o Senhor escolher para ser mãe dele 🧡
Obrigado por abrir seu coração e mostrar como a sua dependência a Ele, tem gerado frutos tão bonitos.
I love you 💕👌
~~~
Hope dear. Thank you for sharing this with me. I was extremely curious to know the rest (I continue to have visions with you), maybe the Lord wants to show us something special 🔥💗
Hope, I always wanted to be a mother, I have each of their names in my mouth, and they haven’t come into the world yet. is more married), as the power of life is in our language, I reproduce everything that our Lord said: For God nothing is impossible- Luke 1:37 💜
Certainly the Lord has a wonderful thing in the lives of your little ones, and even if one is special… use makes you an even more special bride, because it was you that the Lord chose to be his mother 🧡
Thank you for opening your heart and showing how your dependence on Him has generated such beautiful fruits.
I love you 💕👌
Hi Dear Lessyane. It’s exciting to think that the Lord might want to show us something special through your visions, is it like we’ve had these conversations before?
I always wanted to be a mother too and I pray He will give you the desires of your heart. I’m so grateful for the Lord’s promise that nothing is impossible for Him. You are His bride and I’m sure that our Beloved has wonderful things in store for you.
Thank you dear Hope for opening your heart, and I look forward to reading the next ones. May we remember that when we face challenging situations, we know we can count on Someone who not only can, but eagerly wants to help us and care for us and our children…
You’re very welcome, my dear friend. Let’s continue to lift each other up and remind ourselves of how much He cares for us and our children.
Dear Hope
What powerful and magnificent testimony. Every challenge we face, hard situations and all ‘impossible’ things are to finally praise His name.
I don’t know you but by reading just this first part of your testimony, I feel more than blessed to have you here, for sharing HIS plan in your life through your children and to have the chance to know what He is doing.
It really touches my heart and I can’t help surprising myself and even I trust Him for His plan on your life and your ‘blessings’.
2 Corinthians 3:2-3 CEV
[2] But you are our letter, and you are in our hearts for everyone to read and understand. [3] You are like a letter written by Christ and delivered by us. But you are not written with pen and ink or on tablets made of stone. You are written in our hearts by the Spirit of the living God.
https://bible.com/bible/392/2co.3.2-3.CEV
Awaiting with excitement for the other 2 pending parts. ❤️
Mia, thank you for your kind words. It’s amazing how God can use our challenges to bring Him praise and glory. I’m grateful for the like-minded women He has brought into my life over the past few years (even if it’s just online) I pray that His blessings will continue to flow in your life as well.
Wow, Hope, what a confirmation to your Ministry for Special Mothers of Special Children!
*Note that HLM not to say NEEDS because we need these special children just as much as they need us! And they need us to see that this GIFT is a gift that will change us like no other.
**This is take 2 because the first comment I wrote, sharing about my Special older sister, who some of you know was Aunt Patty Cake, was lost. I thought perhaps I was mistaken, and He’d prefer I watch and remain set apart. However, I’m back and as usual, He wanted to show me something that I think is really important. I noticed several #tags with the labels the world has put on your child.
Filed under: #GreaterBlessingsHGM, #HopeAndrews, #specialneedschild #epilepsy #autism #adhd #IDD
When my sister was born, they had no clue what made her “different.” Over the years, I know many tried to diagnose her, but I’m thankful they had no clue, so she was nothing but “special.”
What I began sharing when I commented the first time, was as siblings, growing up with my sister, we were not taught to see her as special. Instead, most tried to ignore her behavior and keep her hidden.
This all changed when I was “forced” to take her when I was a single mom. As I was flying to meet her plane, I was crying, feeling overwhelmed, and I asked God for wisdom. He said, “Imagine if no one wanted you,” and I sobbed. So I asked Him, “Show me how to love her,” and He did! Soon, my children began to see her as special (rather than someone to avoid), and so did everyone we were excited to introduce her to.
My own seven children were also blessed with a special sibling, who I am so grateful to say (to this day), I am not exactly sure what makes him “special” because I refused to have him labeled. It was probably one of the many ways God used my sister’s sad early life for GOOD because I guess I was preparing myself for the possibility of having a special child of my own and began to take notes of other families who were blessed to “special children”—especially how it changed the siblings in a way that nothing else could (when the parents led by example).
I’ve also been blessed to have special grandchildren, who I am honored to say, due to not having my child diagnosed and labeled by the world, have no label.
Please, Hope, sharing about labels is normal and expected. As a matter of fact, most people press me to know what’s “wrong” and try diagnosing these special children by asking questions.
As parents, we naturally seek help from “experts” in their field, but you only need to go back a short time to see how WRONG the medical world has been in the past—in just about everything. So I refuse to allow them to do that to my grown child or grandchildren, NOR to the children of the parents I LOVE so much, like you, Hope, and Janine (and others who have shared with me). It’s not that we can’t share the difficulties or challenges—by no means. And chances are readers might naturally begin to label them, but I believe at HGM we need to rise to the supernatural and take a different journey.
It’s not by chance, but last night, my Husband had me watch a documentary about the shocking and heartbreaking ways they treated mental illness, some of which still go on today. I didn’t want to watch it because it was heartbreaking! But here’s one way He’s using the truth I witnessed (and God knows, may write about more later).
Hope, there is no doubt you are leading mothers on a new path by sharing your testimony. I pray that what I’ve shared will help you and all the mothers not to put our unique and one-of-a-kind children into a box or category.
“I will give thanks to You, with a grateful heart, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, your unique creation; Wonderful are Your works, Your workmanship is marvelous, And my soul knows it very well.” Psalm 139:14
Let’s be the ones to set them FREE and secure our Husband to be our children’s primary Physician.
“Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no Physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?” J822
It’s great to hear this and what He has shown you. I do agree that it’s important to avoid labeling children. I debated the #’s but then leaned onto my own understanding to justify to myself that ladies may search for those hashtags.
When my middle son was in elementary school I never let him know of any labels. It was when he was close to high school before I said the word autism to him because He was struggling with school and having any close friends. I thought it may help if he knew that he was special and unique from others (that could have been shown without the labels). Obviously, I let worry take over.
Yes, I agree “Let’s be the ones to set them FREE and secure our Husband to be our children’s primary Physician” #WonderfullyMade
Hope, you’re amazing 🤩 I was hesitant about saying anything about no labels but my Husband who is so wise assured me it would confirm what you already knew. And even better you can add that to your powerful testimony that will help so many mothers and adults.
It’s shocking how here in the USA most of the older adults are being diagnosed with adhd and a bucket load of other diseases and disorders that rely on drugs that don’t heal but treat the symptoms.
Ultimately it’s making sure we all trust our Physician who created us and has the ability to heal us to share with others who not only need a Physician they can trust BUT a good Friend (which can hopefully develop into a deeper relationship 💗)
May I say I’m more impressed by you and what you and your Husband are doing to minister to mothers who are blessed to have a Special child.
Thank you for sharing precious Hope, I am looking forward to your next post.
Wow this let me really think, because for so long I first spoke of disabled, then special needs and from now on I will just speak of my child as special because that is what he is, thank you.