By Shari McMinn
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts 2:42 ESV)
In my blog post last month, I shared about creating a support net for your special needs child, especially while preparing them for adulthood. How do we find people willing to befriend and help care for our child now and into the future? Well, we can consciously make an effort to make friendships with like-minded believers. God’s Word exhorts us to fellowship with those of like faith, whose teaching is biblical, even eating together and praying with each other. This should be our first level of support for our own benefit, that will additionally bless all of our children, including those who have unique qualities and needs.
In my own life, this consisted of becoming friends with other Christian, large families who homeschooled, lived frugally, and showed loving kindness and patience toward my very diverse group of children, whether typical, special needs, or highly gifted. My unique learner children sometimes had challenges with relationships and socializing, and therefore needed other families who would accept, understand, and make an effort to love them unconditionally.
We established a support circle with like-minded families in the following ways, which might be helpful suggestions for you to consider and begin implementing:
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