Get Your Joy Back

An invitation and a promise for weary Christian parents of special needs kids from a parent who’s been there.

“It isn’t the long day of monitoring a child’s precarious health or being hypervigilant about her mood and mental health challenges that weighs parents down; it’s the wishing that things were different. . . . Resentment, not the intense care they must provide their child, is the parents’ greatest stressor and source of pain.” —Laurie Wallin

Parents of specials needs children are exhausted. They’ve done all the research, consulted all the experts, joined support groups, gotten counseling, fought for the best life for their children. Often just caring for their children’s needs and attempting to maintain a home maxes out parents’ mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves.

Laurie Wallin knows firsthand the difficulties of this journey. With Get Your Joy Back, she steps forward to make a bold, audacious claim: in the midst of this long-term, intense task, it is still possible to have an abundant life, full of joy. The key to radically changing daily life and restoring joy to the weary is forgiveness. Wallin gives parents a lifeline to find that restoration, pulling them back to shore when they feel like they’re drowning.

This book is full of practical, biblical insights and strategies to shed the resentments that leave Christian special-needs parents themselves spiritually, emotionally, and socially drained. Wallin meets readers right where they are, sugar coating nothing, but addressing issues with honesty, humor, and–above all–hope.

My thoughts: Wow. I don't have a special needs child, but I have seen how tough it can be on a family to take care of one. I know it can wear one down to be a caregiver of any kind. This book is an excellent breath of fresh air for parents needing help and encouragement. I know it is hard to get time to read as a parent, but this one is a must! It focuses on how to forgive and draw closer to God, helping one get their joy back. Wallin has been there and offers encouragement to parents who struggle to work together and see the beauty in being a caregiver.
I received this book from Lit Fuse in exchange for my honest review. If you have a special needs child, leave me a comment!