An Uncomfortable Family Update

Good heavens, this is not how I expected to title my first blog of 2022! Yet, alas, I’m online today for some “real talk” with friends who will “get it.”

Our daughter Carly is 23 and has Angelman Syndrome. Her needs are complex and relentless. We have been extremely fortunate that she receives government benefits that include county waiver funding. In other words, we have budget to hire caregiver support and respite staff. But having funds available has, for a long time, not equated to finding people who actually want a job.

As a result, we have been significantly and desperately understaffed for most of the last four years. This is a common reality for families hit by the ongoing crisis of a nationwide caregiver shortage. (Caregiver shortages reached an extreme crisis in the US long before the pandemic of 2020. And the situation has only worsened since then.)

I can’t entirely complain. We’ve had a remarkable situation compared to most. The one staff person we currently have has been working full-time weekdays with Carly since soon after she completed her public education and transition program almost 3 years ago. She has become a dear family friend.

During the summers and when Covid shut down universities, we had extra help from a second long-time team member who came back to work while studying remotely. Still, Carly’s needs are 24/7 and our ongoing efforts to recruit support (paid or volunteer) has been accompanied by the sound of crickets. Virtually no response to ads at all for years.

CovidPODgirls

Throughout this time, we have been questioning a lot of things about how our lives and ministry need to change if these circumstances don’t change. Again, it’s been very hard to hear or discern what God would have us do. We pray repeatedly:

Lord, show us the next best step.

The lives of families like ours (consumed by disability issues) can be messy and chronically strained. We are constantly learning how to experience God’s presence, purpose and peace while simultaneously living in the midst of challenges that pull us toward our wits end. We’re left, daily, with questions about how to endure the moment and the future.

Now what?

Last week, we received news that threw our family into a whirlwind of learning a deeper trust in God—yet again. Carly’s amazing weekday caregiver is getting married at the end of this month. With many upcoming changes in her life, she is going to transition from full time to part time.

I will confess, Larry and I are struggling on several levels and trying to sort out what to do next. We are discouraged, angry (with God mostly), confused, tired, and overwhelmed. Circumstances like this trigger grief, fear, frustration, fatigue, hurts and hopes along with gratitude and lots of questions.

What are we doing about this?

The short answer is, “we don’t know yet.”

The longer answer is this: while we know more every day about God’s promises and character, we still know very little about His ways.

We are waiting on Him while we pray (a lot). We are also trying to give each other space to grieve and process; have lots of heart-to-heart conversations; journal about many feelings, thoughts, ideas, resonating scriptures; ask for counsel from WRIM’s Board of Directors and friends; learn from others who have walked this road ahead of us in wise and godly ways; keep our minds saturated with truth and gratitude; experiment with solutions; anticipate the surprises of God’s love (they will keep coming); continue pursuing a myriad of recruiting strategies; take space to breathe and slow down (it’s helpful and hopefully only temporary to put an autoreply on my email indicating adjusted office hours); the list goes on and on.

In any case, we will hope for the best, but plan for the worst-case scenario. You might say that motto is a matter of survival around here.

“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

2 Chronicles 20:12

How can you pray for us?

We surely do invite you to pray with us. And as you do, please pray for other families impacted by disability as well. Anything you might pray for the Jamieson’s will quite likely be a prayer countless others around you need lifted faithfully before God too.

Thank you for praying with us for…

  • God’s generous, timely, and well-fit provision of care support for Carly
  • Carly’s adjustment to changes in schedule and people — inner peace for her as the Holy Spirit communicates uniquely with our precious daughter
  • That Larry and I would respond to all of this with trust, peace, hope, wisdom, discernment, and patience
  • That God would give Larry and I supernatural spaces of time, energy and health in caring for and enjoying life with Carly
  • Quality sleep for all three of us
  • Clarity about priorities, discipline in scaling back, trust in and cooperation with the Almighty Gardener who will prune us well (at least until we have more staff on board and trained, and possibly beyond that too)
  • 2022 planning as it relates to personal life and WRIM ministry affairs given the staffing dynamics and the labor market
  • Careful listening to how God may want to use this current adversity to guide our hearts and lives, both in the short-term and the long-term — learning to yield to Jesus’ easy yoke in new ways
  • Peace and trust in Jesus for our two oldest daughters — Alex and Erin — who live outside the home while caring so deeply about what is happening here

Friends, we need to plead with heaven together for families, ministries, and churches in this respect. There is an adversary hard at work trying to steal momentum in disability ministry on many fronts and around the world. Still, what the enemy means for evil, God uses for good (Genesis 50:20). Always. I know we can trust that.

You can trust that, too.

I can already see the Gardener doing some painful but valuable pruning. Lord knows, we have prayed for clarity about priorities for so long and now we are finding some by being forced into certain decisions while taking others on sheer faith. My family will be working on that “one step of faith at a time” mindset and prayer. 

Since I blogged recently about having worship playlists, I’ve been asked about songs I’m listening to. I can tell you that the new Homecoming LIVE album has been on repeat at our house for weeks. And Kristene DiMarco’s Wherever You Lead has been the voice of my depths with Jesus the last several days.

LISTEN to the official Homecoming album playlist (Bethel Music) here.

THANK YOU, friends! Larry and I find great comfort in knowing we are never alone in this. Jesus is our ever-present Advocate and Companion. But He has also given us this community — a profound gift!

“The joy of God’s people is not determined by their struggles but by their future destiny.”

Jon Collins of The Bible Project

Let’s talk about it.

If you’d like to join me and a few other family caregivers in exploring how to thrive with biblical life principles while wrestling with troubled waters of a special needs family, join us in this safe space we’ve created for such discussions.

RealTalk.CONNECT.winter

LisaJ.sankey

Lisa Jamieson is a caregiver consultant, pastoral counsellor and author of popular books and Bible studies including Finding Glory in the Thorns and Jesus, Let’s Talk. Lisa and her husband, Larry, live in Minnesota with the youngest of their three grown daughters, Carly, who has Angelman Syndrome. Together, the Jamiesons founded Walk Right In Ministries in 2008, a non-profit organization building faith and community with special needs families.

8 Comments

  1. Ann and Luke

    “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.” 2 Chronicles 20:12, The Lord put this same person in my mind as I was reading your blog. This is one of my life verses. The passage says the people of Judah remained on their knees, with their eyes “fixed- glued” on the Lord, as they waited on him, and the battle was won by the Lord on their behalf. Then they leaped to their feet in worship! We are praying for the exact same breakthrough for you all. That God will intervene on your behalf, and bring miraculous provision and wisdom as you walk this out breath by breath, day by day with sweet Carley. We are confused, grieved, and seeking the Lord with you! Praying in your behalf helping hold your arms up high…

    Reply
    • Lisa Jamieson

      LOVE THAT! That word “glue” is so helpful in this context. May we also LEAP to our feet in worship too.

      Reply
  2. Lanae Doiron

    Lisa, I so appreciate your honesty about this very real and painful struggle. I myself have been in tears this past week about our own son’s group home situation. The home is a great place for him, but the staffing challenges are creating behavioral challenges for him. He could possibly end up back at home with us for 24/7 care. My heart is with yours and every family going through this. God is always working in all of our lives, even when we don’t feel it, and He is working in these circumstances. He loves us more than we can imagine. I know a prayer for myself is that I draw closer and closer in the embrace of His love, because when I do, the things of this world and the challenges of special needs will not be as consuming because I know I am safe. This is my prayer for you as well.

    Reply
    • Lisa Jamieson

      This verse has become more meaningful than ever to me in the last couple of years — 1 Peter 5:9 Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.

      Reply
  3. Janet Sisk

    I totally understand your frustration and desperation for getting good help. My 32 year old daughter has several diagnosis as well and it’s been hard, especially moving to a new state (TN) 2 years ago (right before COVID hit – Yikes!) She recently moved into a group home with 2 housemates. It’s an ongoing road of adjustment for all of us. It was hard to get in-home help even though we had funds through the state for care. As you have experienced, no one is picking up these kinds of jobs. Most of the agencies are not taking on new clients since they have no staff to support them (for in home care). Our state benefits case manager told us we may have better luck pursuing the group home route. Our daughter lived in a group home before in another state (MI) so we were familiar with this route. We definitely had better luck with that, but staffing is still an issue with group homes. We are fortunate that there have been some new hires for her home that are fabulous, but there are a couple that just don’t get our daughter. It’s always an issue whether at our home or her own home. We just keep trusting God and remind ourselves that He loves her even MORE than we do. We have to have faith that she will be okay and that God’s got this. I am praying that God shows Himself to you in your situation and does what He does best – God Only Things! Hang in there! PS Our neuro-typical daughter lives in Minneapolis and is an OT at one of the charter schools. 😀

    Reply
    • Lisa Jamieson

      Thank you for sharing, Janet. How lovely to hear how your daughter is serving in the health care field too. Certainly growing up with a sibling like hers must have shaped her passions and insights in some beautiful ways. I pray your daughter in TN thrives in that group home.

      Reply
  4. garth warren

    Praying for a miracle.

    Reply

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