Raising A 24/7 Child

Are you a planner?  I am!  I had my life planned to:  raise my children, retire from my 9 to 5 at an early age, tackle things I put on hold until my children were on their own and travel the United States.  Sounds good, right! Well, 5-1/2 years before retirement, Father God introduced me to my husband.  We married, raised his youngest daughter, and then we both retired the same year.  We were so excited!  World watch out, here we come!

Before we started our traveling venture, per God, we founded a community service ministry and got involved part-time with other service ministries, which allowed us to travel.  After several years of traveling, we received a knock on our door.  Little did we know that on the other side of our door would be a decision we would have to make that would change our lives for many years to come. 

On the other side of our door was my husband’s 14 month old grandson (which is now also mine) and his maternal grandparents.  Both parents were no longer in his life due to choices they had made, and now this little boy was homeless.  The decision was easy to make. How do you turn your back on your grandchild?  Little did we know what came with this bundle of boy.  Little did we know that our lives were about to change very quickly.  Unknowingly, we agreed to take on the responsibility of our grandchild. 

Twelve 12 months later, after many major meltdowns lasting 35 minutes each time and sleepless nights, we learned our grandson has many behavior problems such as:  ODD (oppositional defiant disorder); anxiety disorder; RAD (reactive attachment disorder – abandonment); failure to thrive; ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), sensory issues, PTSD, and impulsivity disorder. We also had many, many trips to the dermatologist for our grandchild’s severe eczema,    I was ready to move out to another state where no one knew me!

I On one occasion, after a horrible screaming meltdown, I got into my car and took a long drive.  During my drive I cried out to Father God, “why me, what did I do to deserve this?”  We finally decided to contact behavior agencies for help.

Our grandson is now 11 soon to be 12, and by the grace of God, He has helped us tremendously in dealing with a child that has behavioral problems due to genetics and complications due to his birth.  This has been a long journey with many stories spiritually and emotionally. My husband and I thought we knew how to be parents/grandparents, but this is a new learning adventure for both of us. 

The reason for writing this blog post is to release my frustrations, new experiences, and prayerful help other grandparents going through the same “new learning skill.” The greatest lesson I learned was how to cling to Father God while relying on His help to keet my sanity.

Stay tuned for future short posts sharing my 11 year journey, raising a 24/7 child.

Journey With The King

Join our YouTube Channel – Join our Facebook Group – Visit our Website