ETB 51: Have you ever pondered over the therapeutic power of writing in dealing with overpowering emotions? Join me, Sandy Deppish, on this personal journey as I revisit an old blog post titled 'It's Not About Me.' You'll discover how documenting the highs and lows of raising a child with a disability has helped me process my feelings and paved the path for resilience and hope.
This episode is also a heartfelt tribute to my son Josiah, and all children living with disabilities - the true heroes of our stories. Their courage, strength, perseverance, and infectious joy in the face of daily struggles are awe-inspiring. I hope my recount of their journey brings you the same inspiration and admiration they bring me every day. Let's embrace the blessings our amazing kids bring to our lives, together!
Hey there, I'm Sandy Deppish, and this is the Embrace the Blessing podcast. Each week, I talk with a parent who has a child with a disability. They share their biggest challenge, their greatest joy and their hopes and dreams for the future. You'll learn about resources available to you and discover helpful hints and tips If you want to be inspired and encouraged. Stick around. Let's walk the road less traveled together. Okay, guys, so it's been a while since a new episode has been published. There actually has been a couple of delays for some of the recordings that I've been planning to do, and I was also away for a week enjoying a fabulous vacation, but I did want to get something out for this week, and so I went back to my blog post. I looked over some of the things that I had written, and this is something that I wrote back in 2019, called it's Not About Me, and I wanted to read this to you guys. So, yes, it's going to sound like I'm reading and not like I'm talking, but bear with me, because I think, if you have a child with a disability and you go through some very challenging times, I would love to encourage you to write down what's happening, whether it's a journal, whether you start your own blog, just somehow record what is happening, because when I go back and read some of the blog posts that I wrote 10 years ago or longer, I really don't remember all of those details, and I'm so grateful that I have them saved, because it gives a history of what we've been through and it gives me an opportunity to be so grateful for the grace that God has given us to get through the really hard times and to know that we are on the other side of that now and I hope that's hopeful for you if you're struggling currently to realize that it's not going to last forever. There is hope on the other side. You have to go through the difficulties, but if you need help, reach out. There are people who want to support you. You just need to ask for the help. Anyway, hopefully this will encourage you to start recording what's been going on in your life. For me it felt cathartic. It was a way for me to let it go. I could get it out and not have to live in it and have those thoughts of how overwhelming it was constantly rambling around in my brain. I could write it down and release it. It's very, very helpful. Okay, this was in April of 2019, called it's Not About Me.
Speaker 1:
I started this blog years ago, encouraged by a friend to share our journey. I was hesitant at first. Life in our house isn't pretty. It's often chaotic, confusing and challenging. It's loud and smelly and all-consuming. Why share that with the world? Once I started writing, I couldn't stop Writing it all down. As it unfolded, became my way of escape. If I wrote about it, I could release it, capturing all the heartache and struggle, embracing it for what it is. Then letting it go became my therapy.
Speaker 1:
It's taken me all these years to realize, however, none of this is about me. Like an Oprah Winfrey aha moment, I finally get it. It's not about me. I'm just the mom. I'm the one who gets a front row seat and a bird's eye view, and one of the ones continuously being molded and shaped, and hopefully refined, by this path we are on.
Speaker 1:
But this is all so much more about the real hero of the story. This is about Josiah. It's about all the Josiahs in the world who live in bodies that define them, who have no words to express themselves, who face challenges on a daily basis. Many of us can't even begin to imagine. This is about all those who, for reasons we aren't privy to this side of heaven, endure daunting daily struggles yet wake up with smiles on their faces, who are left out, ignored and dismissed. This is for the ones who have no words to express their pain, no way to let you know they are suffering and need relief, who I can only imagine must work tirelessly trying to problem solve ways to get their message across, to help us understand who, out of desperation and anguish, punch themselves five hundred times in two hours, while in attack mode on anyone brave enough or foolish enough to stand in their way. This is for the one who visited hospital emergency rooms three times in one week, only to have a horde of strangers, three times in one week, burst into the room to restrain him on the bed, to insert things in his body. No one ever once inserted in the first place, all the while ignoring his scared cries and painful screams. This is for the one who just doesn't understand, no matter how many times you explain, or how many different ways you explain, that it will all be over soon, that no one is trying to hurt him, that everyone is doing their best to help. This is for the one who had no choice in the matter, who must endure, because what other option did he have?
Speaker 1:
I was playing a game with a group of students recently. We each rolled dice and, depending upon the number rolled, had to answer a getting to know you question. I rolled a five share. Your favorite hero most in the room given the same question would have responded with answers like spider man or Superman or Batman, maybe without thinking I blurted out my hero is my son, josiah. Choking on the words as the tears began to flow. I tried to provide a brief explanation, then pass the dice. I was surprised by my emotional outburst. I wasn't, however, surprised by my answer. Josiah and all those like him are the true heroes, the ones who live their lives with courage, who persevere no matter how difficult the challenge, who inspire us to never give up, to keep doing the very best each day, to find joy in the moment, to celebrate life when it's good and to be brave and strong when it's not, to love fiercely and with abandon and, no matter what, to wake each morning with a smile.