How Having A Special Needs Child Birthed A Ministry… and a Giveaway!

Past into Purpose Series, Post #6:  This series is intended to introduce you to the women on the Your Life Still Counts Contributor Team whose inspiring stories of pain into purpose were selected for inclusion in the book. To read the full story of each contributor, click here to purchase your copy of Your Life Still Counts and be inspired to allow God to turn your past into your purpose too.

____________

Becky headshotPlease Meet Becky Davidson 

Becky and her husband Jeff live in Cookeville, Tennessee, and started a ministry for parents of special-needs children called Rising Above Ministries, as a result of having a special needs child themselves and seeing God work through their parenting challenges. They now offer hope and encouragement to parents of special-needs children through Bible studies, conferences, worship services, and ministerial support activities that are specifically geared toward their unique spiritual needs. More information about their ministry can be found at www.risingaboveministries.org.

My Interview With Becky 

Thank you so much for sharing your power story of how God used the experience of having an autistic child to equip you for a ministry you would have never imagined. And your story is so inspiring, to read Has God ever taken something difficult in your life and used it for something good. What are your thoughts about that? 

Becky: I never dreamed I would be the mom of a child with profound special needs. It was not a part of MY plans but God had different and better plans for us. God has taken our experiences and used them to reveal his presence, character, and the essence of the gospel in our lives. Through those experiences we felt called to share that hope with other special-needs families and started Rising Above Ministries in 2005.

I so admire your strength, your faith to see God at work in the midst of hardship, and your willingness to follow God’s call about starting your amazing ministry. Just wondering, do you have one example of how God has used your personal story recently to impact someone’s heart or life, and how He equipped you in a special way as a result of your experiences?

Becky: There are many, but just a few weeks ago I was able to share my story with other special-needs moms at our Brookside Conference in Atlanta to give them encouragement, hope, and teach them about the amazing blessing of raising a child with special needs. Only another parent of a child with special- needs can truly grasp what it is like to raise a child with special needs and the stresses that are involved. God has broken my own heart for the broken-hearted and I truly understand, through being a mom of a child with special-needs, that grace, unconditional love, and the complete dependence on God is what sustains me. I want to share that with others.

Becky, your sharing might be exactly the hope and encouragement that another mom of a special needs  child needs to hear. Your story might just be what helps a hope-less, broken hearted mom get through one more difficult day. So what you are most passionate about right now and why? 

Becky: Right now I am most passionate about bringing God’s hope to families of children with special needs to strengthen their marriages, relationships, and family units. So often we see the fathers of children with special needs leave the family within 2-3 years of a diagnosis. We are now seeing moms leave as well and children now being raised by grandparents. It is our heart for parents to see that their child is a blessing and not a burden and to stay committed to their family. We also want to help churches learn how to better serve special-needs families. 90% of special-needs families are un-churched making them one of the largest unreached people groups. We want to change that and help every family have a place to belong.

That is a shocking statistic – 90% of special needs families are unchurched? I never knew that. That makes what God has called you and your husband to do even more incredible, and there must be thousands of special needs parents out there desperate for hope, and Jesus, even if they don’t realize it. So do you have anything special you are working on right now?

Becky: Yes! My husband just released a book about our journey to bring hope, inspiration, and the love of Christ to other special-need families, and to anyone struggling through painful circumstances and searching to find God.  It’s called, No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches ; a father, a son with special needs and their journey with God. We hope it reaches families like ours and helps them on this journey of parenting special needs children. We also plan to write a book together for special needs parents about marriage to help combat the incredibly high divorce rate in the special needs community.

 If you had to name one thing that you are most thankful to God for, what would it be?

Becky: When I was younger, and pregnant, I had prayed and prayed for God to give me a perfectly healthy, typical boy. I thought that would be God’s best for my family. Over the years I have learned so much, and now I am so thankful that God instead told me, “I have something better for you” and He gave us our amazing son.

I never imagined God would call me into ministry and to speak to women’s groups about the very thing that I had prayed not to be a part of my life. I went to school to become a teacher and taught school for several years before the birth of our son. Starting Rising Above Ministries with my husband was God calling us out of our comfort zone to do what He called us to do.

You are such a shining example of living in the faith zone, instead of our comfort zone, and of allowing God to take what you thought was a terrible circumstance and turn it into a divine calling. Thank you so much for having the courage and faith to step out in faith so that other special needs parents can have hope and be positive about what they’re going through, and about the future.  How might people pray for you at this time in your life with regards to Rising Above Ministries, and life in general? 

Becky: Please pray for God to open doors for us to reach the special-need families who are struggling, searching for understanding and hope, and trying to find God in their circumstances. We want to continue to allow our story to be a part of God’s bigger story. Our goal is for more and more families to realize that God has a plan and a purpose for them and their special child.

________________

I am so in awe of how God has walked Jeff and Becky through great adversity in raising their precious special needs son Jon Alex, and given them courageous faith and a passion to help other parents of special needs children know there is hope. If you are the mom or dad of a special needs child, and struggle with feeling discouraged, exhausted, frustrated, and maybe even hopeless, I want to encourage you to check out Rising Above Ministries. 

Up for grabs are two free copies of Jeff Davidson’s new book, No More Peanut Butter Sandwiches!! Below is the description and a phenomenal review by a precious name I know you’ll recognize. 🙂  To enter to win, leave a comment on my blog about how this book might encourage you or someone you care about in the journey of parenting a special needs child. (emailed comments and replies will not be entered into the drawing)

PEANUT NO MORE PEANUT BUTTER SANDWICHES

What if the challenges, struggles, and trials in your life turned out to be God’s stage for the biggest blessing of your life? What if the circumstances that bewildered and frustrated you the most brought you the closest you had ever been to God? When Jeff Davidson became the father of a child with special needs, he thought God had wrecked his life. He would discover though that God had given him an amazing gift. God had, in fact, given him a masterpiece. As the author states, “God sent a broken child into a broken world, to a broken father, so that together they would find God in their brokenness. The world sees a little boy who cannot walk or talk, and requires 24/7 care with his every need. I see God painting his story of unconditional love, grace, and beauty on a human canvas.”

ENDORSEMENT:

“Jeff gives us a rare and honest look into the heart of a father trying to come to grips with his son’s special-needs…and I’m grateful for the many other dads who will be helped by his satisfying insights.”Joni Eareckson Tada, Founder/CEO, Joni and Friends International Disability Center

 

For more information about Rising Above Ministries, please CLICK HERE.  They have so much to offer and I know you will be blessed and encouraged!

Image00049[1]

Image00035

13 Comments

  1. Adoption+Mama on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 8:38 am

    I am a mom of 4 children…all adopted…all of another race…one with ACC-C. I home school them all and at so many times feel completely inadequate. But thanks be to God for the body of Christ that can come along and encourage each other.



    • Tracie on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 1:58 pm

      Wow – what an awesome calling God placed on your life by giving you a heart and desire for adoption. I’m sure there are hard days, but God has given you everything you need to do what He has called you to do. Praying His peace and purpose to abound in you!



  2. Donna L on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 9:00 am

    My husband is a special education teacher in a local elementary school, and I know that there are several parents of his students that could benefit from this book.



  3. Leslie M. on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 9:01 am

    We have 2 sons (now 18 & 20) – one with autism, one with cerebral palsy. I homeschooled both of them and now BOTH are at our local community college and THRIVING – GOD IS GOOD! It has always been by God-sized dream to be able to help and encourage other families with special needs children and now I am taking graduate classes to get my degree in counseling. This is totally by FAITH as there is no extra $$ in our budget for it but so far for the first 2 semesters, God is making it possible – and I KNOW He will continue to!

    I’d LOVE this book to be able to use with my future families!



    • Tracie on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 2:00 pm

      If God calls you to it, He’ll get you through it Leslie! Praying God opens doors for you to pursue the dream He has placed in your heart, and praising Him for His provision for you thus far!



  4. Maureen on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 10:18 am

    I have a child with special needs and do not currently go to church. The last church we attended the program was just too much for him and he was scared to go every Sunday (after he left the preschool section and moved to the elementary aged group). The last thing I want is for him not to enjoy church so we stopped attending. We teach him about God and we pray and study at home. The sermons at the churches I have attended never even mentioned special needs parenting. When they would talk about issues people face, it never included what I was going through. I was not comfortable talking to anyone there about how I felt (I grew up “unchurched” and was relatively new to going to chuch when we had our son.) I was glad to read of this special needs ministry.



    • Tracie on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 2:04 pm

      Maureen – thank you for sharing. We had parents in our church many years ago who felt the same way as you. Our church simply didn’t have a program geared for special needs children unfortunately, but I know that family searched around and found a church which could meet the needs of their son, physically and spiritually. Praying that God leads you to a church who can minister to you and your son, and that He brings friends and fellow parents of special needs children into your life to encourage you and share life with you and lean on each other through the experiences you share on a daily basis. You should definitely check out Becky’s ministry site , http://www.risingaboveministries.org and see if you can get plugged in. I’m sure she’d love to talk with you!



  5. Cassandra on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 11:01 am

    I am the mom of two boys, both adopted, both with varying degrees of Autism. My oldest, has a very rare form of Autism called Childhood Disintegrative Disorder. The doctors do not know much about it and no one can tell us how far he will regress. He has had numerous medical issues this last year that has required three surgeries and three hospitalizations. We have felt very alone and abandoned by our family and our church family. 2014 was the loneliest and darkest year of our lives, due to our son’s illnesses and multiples losses in our family, as well as dealing with raising two special needs children. It was only by God’s grace that I was able to get out of bed to take care of my family. I really wanted to just shut out the world, but knew that was not possible.

    I previously led a support group for families of special needs children, but that went by the wayside last year. I finally feel like I am able to start it back up. I would love this book to be able to read it myself and share it with my group as we begin it again soon.



    • Tracie on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 2:06 pm

      Cassandra, Im so sorry for the difficult year you experienced, and praying that 2015 brings joy, sunshine, hope, peace and purpose for all of you! You should check out http://www.risingaboveministries.org as well, and read about all the opportunities they have to support you and this journey you are on with your kids. Thank you for sharing your comment.



  6. Eric Nixon on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 12:19 pm

    I run a local special needs DADs support group in PA and I’m interested in reading Jeff’s book.
    Looking for other resources for the men in our group.



    • Tracie on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 2:08 pm

      That’s great Eric! Here is Jeff’s blog if you’d like to reach out to him. Im sure he’d be glad to chat with you about the resources and programs they have to offer. https://goodnightsuperman.com/



  7. Kathleen on Thursday, January 8, 2015 at 9:17 pm

    I am a first grade teacher and my class partners with our special needs students. We all know the children and my students are so precious with them. There is one little autistic boy named Jake. He has just started using my name. He usually just yells out throuout the day. I met his mom the other day and she looked so stressed out. I would love to give this book to her to encourage her and her husband.



Headshot Flipped 2

Tracie Miles is a bestselling author and the Director of COMPEL Training with Proverbs 31 Ministries.  She helps women grow stronger in their faith, pursue the life of purpose God designed them for and live a life of peace, joy and happiness despite their circumstances.

Living-Unbroken-3DwithShadow

Available Now!

Subscribe to Tracie’s Blog

Receive the Living Unbroken Battle Plan Workbook for free if you subscribe to Tracie’s blog today!
Something went wrong. Please check your entries and try again.

Tracie's Books