When Despair Takes Over

Recently I read a heartbreaking story about Bonnie Liltz, a mother who thought she was dying of ovarian cancer – despairing over what might happen to her adopted daughter, Courtney, who had cognitive limitations and CP, she tragically took her daughter’s life. Bonnie was afraid that, after she died, her 23-year-old mentally-impaired child would have to live out her life in a dreary institution. Does that excuse Bonnie’s actions? No, it does not. Yet whatever your thoughts about this terrible tragedy, it does shed light on the plight of many other parents of young adults with disabilities who worry what will happen to their child when they are no longer able to provide care. Some of these same families will be attending our Family Retreats this summer – ask God to lift the despair, and fill their hearts with hope for their child’s future. Also pray that the church will begin to ‘stand in the gap,’ providing compassionate solutions for these aging parents and their young adult children with disabilities!