Walking in Truth

Below are Jessica's thoughts on Chapter 11 of The Power of A Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian. Please know that what we all learn from a study is usually different. Feel free to leave what you've learned in the comment section below this post.

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
-John 16:13

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
-1 John 1:4

Walking in truth can be pretty brutal for parents in the world of autism. To be honest, if I were 100% facing the truth on my own strength, I think that I would be a very depressed person. I am learning to allow God to show me what He feels I need to know and face, so that I will have His grace to do so. By allowing God to reveal hidden truths we are able to receive healing in the places of our hearts that are hurting the most.

I realize that this chapter is about teaching our children to value truth and honesty. I agree that this is of the utmost importance. Recently, a few of my autism mom friends have been celebrating because their children told a lie for the first time. This isn't because they want their children to be dishonest or to encourage the behavior. It is recognizing that their child is passing through a "normal" developmental phase and taking delight in the opportunity to guide their child in this area of development.

On page 91, Stormie says, "Children will lie at one time or another. The question is not if they will, but whether or not lying will become something they can get away with". We want to discourage our children from lying. More than that, we want to make sure they know the full ramifications of lies. I have told my nine year old that if he lies, then I won't be able to trust him because I won't know if he is telling the truth or not. That upset him greatly. I really appreciated Stormie for reminding me that Satan is the father of all lies, and every time we tell a lie we give him a piece of our heart. This is another reason for not lying that I need to reinforce with my children.

As far as facing the truth in our own lives, I am by no means suggesting that we all live in denial. I am suggesting that we surrender our entire lives to God, and trust Him to lead us into all truth. Whether that is about why our child regressed into autism, the full scope of all that our child needs or may need in the future, or simply how to help them in the here and now: these are all areas that God can help us with. He can heal our hearts so that we don't feel condemnation about our child's autism and its possible cause. He can show us the way in which we need to go and He can provide for and bless us in our journey in ways we could never imagine.

Dear Lord,

Please grant a special blessing to every mother who reads this. Many of us are in great pain over the condition of our child/children. Cover us and our children with your precious blood and free us from any condemnation. Give us the grace and strength to walk in truth and to teach and guide our children to do the same. Cleanse us of any areas in the past when we did not do this and fill us with your healing love. I ask this in Jesus' name.

Amen.