“ One Day at the time”

 

MY DAY ZERO-

My Day Zero was a dark, formless and empty day... it was the day that my son was diagnosed with “Autism”. It was the day that I recognized that something had happened in my son's life and I had no control over it. We don't have answers and we don't know how to act because all the information is new, but above all, none of the information you've heard about autism is good and gives you hope, on the contrary, it takes away all your desire to continue. Because science says there is no cure…

 

It's been 12 years since my son's diagnosis. And I learned so many things that made me a better person than I would ever be if it weren't for the experience I had with God that taught me to choose to grow even in my suffering. And one of the first things I learned from this diagnosis was how God makes us teaches since the creation of the world how He gave us victory from the first day of our lives. Illustrating us how He Himself confronted the darkness in Genesis 1:1-2 which says: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

 

The earth was formless and had nothing in it, darkness covered the deep sea, and the Spirit of God hovered over the face of the waters." Genesis 1:1-2 VFL https://bible.com/bible/200/gen.1.1-2.VFL In the Hebrew translation it says that the Spirit of God “incubated” the earth. Through this verse I could see that even in the darkness, God is with us, incubating us, protecting us and teaching us how to overcome the obstacles to being happy.

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The Holy Spirit is present. The earth also had a darkness. And the interesting thing is God said let there be Light on day 1-. But He created the sun only on the 4th to illuminate the “earth”.

 

​ “God said: Let there be light; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and separated the light from the darkness.” Genesis 1:3-4 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1608/gen.1.3-4.ARA ​ So what would this Light be? Himself. ​

 

But contrary to what we think, He doesn't care why our son was diagnosed with such a horrible disorder. In verse 2 of chapter 1 He enlightens us and teaches us that even when the earth was dark, formless and empty the Spirit of God “hovered” incubated over the earth and He was present. And in my analysis of 12 years of living with autism and overcoming the strengths that often held me back from overcoming so many difficult moments of autism.

 

I remember that after I “surrendered” to God and gave Him my concerns about my son's autism….. He made me…

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MY DAY 1 -

It's the day God renewed my mind. The day I began to grow my intimacy with God. And He taught me how to overcome my fears, my anxieties about my future and that of my son and my family.

 

My son's autism tried to steal my hope of being happy for so many years and even of dreaming, of believing that God cared about me, but God had a plan for my family to be happy regardless of my son's autism. Because on day Zero He waited for me… waited for me to recognize who He is. He is not a God for me to use. But a God who wants to have a relationship with me beyond the circumstances of this life.

 

My Day 2- like the day the world was created After God renewed my mind when I recognized that He had a plan for my life. He gave me this desire to fight and be like a soldier, to be a warrior. Because I didn’t even want to be like that before…

 

But I just complained and accused him of being a God who was silent on me. For allowing autism in my son. But after He renewed my mind on the 1st. And I made peace with Him. He then gave it to me.

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DAY 2 He started to train me again… Because day 2 is painful. Because you recognize that God has not yet healed your son. But He is still teaching you through the autism crises to make you strong and courageous! But besides that, on day 2 He teaches you the value of sacrifice.

 

He asks you to stop your life for a moment. So that you can really understand what the word sacrifice means. Because He is the only example you can have of sacrifice. Because before I thought that no one sacrificed more than myself for my son. Until God clarifies and makes me recognize Jesus' sacrifice for me. I recognize my ignorance and arrogance in thinking that I sacrificed myself for my son more than God. You stop being that emotional person who cries about everything that happens to your autistic child.

 

The victim mentality dies. And He gives you another character, another personality. He gives you His. It forms your emotional foundation. And you cry, but you cry with gratitude to God. Cry with love to your son for the qualities of life that He still has and those that He will still have... And God teaches you how to be a WARRIOR. He puts on this winning spirit that no one can stop you.

 

Not even autism in your child! You see other mothers complaining about the same things... but God shows you that you don't need to live according to your emotions or according to the circumstances and you can see Victory in every struggle and difficulty in your life and not only see the difficulties of your child.

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MY DAY 3 -

God filled the earth and the sea on the 3rd day of the creation of the world. And that was also how my 3rd day with God was. He filled me. Because I trusted Him first and He then filled me with His presence. God showed me that everything He forms He wants to fill. He not only wants us to be formed and victorious.

 

But He wants us to be filled with His presence and be like Him. My son could have an autism crisis. But it didn't stress me out as much because besides God teaching me how to help him with crises, crises didn't depress me as much anymore because you know you're not alone. And I knew I would be victorious! Because there is someone bigger than me acting for me and helping me win.

 

And overcoming the barriers of autism for me. And that someone is not me alone anymore. But it is God himself within me. Acting in me. For me. And giving me victory.

 

On the sixth day of creation God said that everything He had made was very good. “God saw that everything he had done was very good. Night came and morning came, and so the sixth day passed.” Genesis 1:31 VFL https://bible.com/bible/200/gen.1.31.VFL

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MY DAY 4 -

I learned from this verse that I shouldn't compare my son and other mothers' achievements with my son. When God said it was good when he created the earth.

 

He was there in the sky looking at the earth. And he never looked at the earth and said: how horrible. It doesn’t even compare to my kingdom here in heaven… But He never compared the earth with the heaven where He was. But He said what I did is good. I learned to look more at the qualities of my autistic son. I began to notice other qualities that God blessed him with.

 

I began to realize that He has more qualities to admire than to dwell on the difficulties that autism brings to his life. I stopped comparing my days of victory and even defeat with other mothers who had so many more victories than me...

 

And I started celebrating every day of my life with my son.:: and so life goes on… ​ One day at a time… ​

 

with Christ Love

R.Craft