Executive Director Guest Column by Nancy Fagan “Thy Will Be Done”
Dear Family and Friends,
This month’s encouragement letter is a guest column from Nancy Fagan, mother of BVT Day Program Participant, Connor. I am thankful for Nancy’s faith story and I know her story will bless your life as it has mine. Please enjoy this month’s encouragement post from Nancy!
Steven Campbell
Executive Director
“Through all the trials on my path of special-needs parenting, the one thing I always hold in my heart is that Jesus is by my side. My favorite Bible verse is this one – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; acknowledge Him in all that you do, and He will guide your path” Proverbs 3:5-6. Somehow I have always felt that this was the only understanding that I needed; all else would fall in place.
But as special-needs parents know, different trials come along at different times. They never become easier to cope with, sometimes only more challenging. As an addition to my Proverbs Bible verse, I began to focus on the words in the Lord’s prayer; “Thy will be done”. I reminded myself daily that what happens through the trials is a result of the Lord’s Will, and this was just something that I couldn’t understand – it was just bigger than me. My husband tells people that the Lord must be turning him into the ultimate warrior. It’s true that we keep on fighting, and doing whatever we need to do as parents to provide for our child’s needs.
I began to see the words “Thy will be done” more like a reminder that God has the final say – He is the bottom line – the final hammer. No matter what I prayed for, it was going to be HIS will, and not mine. Each day, I looked at the wall plaque I made with those words and a cross and I would feel a bit of remorse. And when I would pray, and say the words ‘thy will be done’, my heart would sink almost as if I just needed to accept His will and move on.
My focus then changed to thoughts about our heavenly home. When we are in heaven everything will be perfect – including my child and how wonderful it will be for him when he is in his heavenly body! It is true that we are not of this world, and many things in the world are broken because of original sin. When I put myself and my thoughts in the heavenly realm I looked again at the words, “Thy will be done” and began to see the amazing and wonderful reality! God is all powerful, and He loved us so much that He sent His Son to bear the pain and suffering of sin for all of us. His Will is something great and wonderful for us! He made the Earth, moon and stars and set the universe in motion. Imagine what He can do for us – His beloved children! Maybe this is where God wants our focus to be because it is when we put our thoughts in the heavenly realm that our will more evenly aligns with His will.
People often say, “God won’t give you more than you can handle”. Yet, in Lysa Terkeurst’s book “It’s Not Supposed to Be this Way”, Lysa claims that this statement is not actually in the Bible. She explains that God does say He won’t allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear (1 Cor 10:13). She also finds Paul in 1 Corinthians telling fellow Christians of the pressure they endured, far beyond their ability to endure, even to the point of despairing life itself. Lysa’s ‘take’ on this is that ”God doesn’t expect us to handle it, He expects us to hand it over to Him”. I would like to add that God will certainly equip us for whatever may come our way.”
Nancy Fagan