Thing number #347 your Preteen or Teenager with a Diagnosis wants you to know: I want hope

Thing number #347 your preteen or teenager with a diagnosis wants you to know:

I want hope.

I want to know that there’s hope for me.

I know I’m not the same as many of my peers, and I’ve known it for a long time. But there’s a place for me in this world, isn’t there? I won’t always feel behind or like I’m trouble, will I? Is there a good plan for me?

Your preteen or teen will probably never say those words, but as a teenager who struggled badly, I’ll tell you hope is what I didn’t know I craved.

It’s easy to start thinking you’ll never make it when you see how easily others make friends, remember homework assignments, pay attention in regular classes, and aren’t always in some kind of trouble for saying or doing something that made total sense at the time.

In my defense, saying, “If this is torture, chain me to the wall” at Thanksgiving dinner was a compliment. I’d heard that line from the animated movie, Oliver & Company and thought it meant “Wow, this is a really nice meal!” because that was the exact context.

The looks of complete horror and anger caught me off guard. You would have thought Beelzebub himself had manifested.

Anyway, the rolls were good and soft.

I know I was a handful. I had a mouth on me. I had a tendency to not be where I was supposed to.

I just loved going on walks even if they were off campus during school hours. I liked to read in the library when everyone was in class because I never understood anything anyway.

After awhile, once hope of being “good enough” goes away, you just start doing whatever.

Thankfully hope did come later.

I learned that there was a Shepherd who knows all of His sheep by name and who cares more about hearts than GPAs.

I learned there is a Shepherd who sits with the sheep who sit alone. He talks to the ones who say wild stuff and leaves to find the ones who have wandered off.

I learned that He has words that comfort, a heart I could burrow in, and loving waters that heal.

Later in life, Jesus became my best friend and we went and still go on lots of long walks together. I know for a fact I’ve made Him laugh with the wild things I say.

If you’re parenting a teenager with a diagnosis, one who needs a lot of you, there are things they want to tell you. I wrote down ten of them. I also included a prayer you can say for your teen or preteen.

Hope is not lost. Don’t be afraid. There’s a Shepherd who loves your baby even more than you do and can parent that special lamb right along with you. He has a good plan.

Hold on to hope.

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosperyou and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Jeremiah 29:11

Here's a prayer you can say.

Dear God,

Please give me hope. Give my child hope, too. I know You keep your promises and that we're not alone in this. Strenthen me. Pour out your healing on my child, me, and our family. Help me trust you more.

Show us which way we should go. I believe You still work miracles and ask for you to guide my child into the destiny You have for them. I believe in the future and hope You promised. In Jesus' name I pray, amen

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Diary of a Wimpy Kid Meets Dog Man Meets Faith, Fun, & Laughs

David's Diary is a brand new chapter book series by Bunmi Laditan full of everyday adventure. Featuring neurodivergent characters who GROW and figure out that with God, all things are possible.

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