2 Corinthians 12:8,9 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you: for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

When my two daughters were little, I remember several times that they fell when learning how to ride their bikes. My husband or I would wipe away their tears, help them up, kiss their foreheads, and send them off to try again. Usually the words, “everything will be okay, you got this” were spoken as well.

As a parent of a child with extraordinary challenges, you know you can’t always make things better with a wiping away of the tears and kiss on the forehead. You realize that your skills to heal and improve situations are limited. When I am feeling frustrated by this, the Bible passage above is a good reminder for me:

In 2 Corinthians, Paul reminds us that our weaknesses—which would include our weaknesses as parents—are not truly weaknesses when we take them to the Lord. Jesus uses our weaknesses to showcase his strength. Even as we pray for better results with the next surgery, therapy session, or dose of medication, the Lord uses these situations.

This verse goes on to say: “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

What? How can I boast in my weaknesses as a parent or even in my child’s weaknesses? Paul is talking in this passage about his “thorn in the flesh.” There are many theories as to what that may have been; however, Paul was asking the Lord to remove it so that he could better serve God. That seems like a good request, right? But God in his wisdom told Paul—and tells us—that his grace is sufficient for us.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand why or how this is possible. But it is. God will make sure that in every situation his glory is known. In my own family’s life, we have seen the Lord demonstrate his power in ways that science and medicine can’t explain, but only God can. I believe that he takes a special joy in blessing us in these instances and uses them to help witness to others. You and I may not see his power in ways that we would imagine or in the time that we would think, but he is with each of us, and he is working.

So dear fellow parent, let the Lord carry your child, family, and you. Ask him to pour his strength into you to replace your weakness. He promises he will do it.

Dear Lord, as frustrating as the weaknesses of life are, please help me look to you for strength for my child, for my family, and for me as a parent. I know that you are the mighty Creator and Healer and that you know better than I do what we need. Please also give us peace and your strength to move forward. Amen.

by Pam Schleg