Many of you know about our son Jonah’s autism diagnosis and the many struggles we’ve had over the past few years. You can read about some of our raw emotions and some of his past behaviors here.
Peter and I, along with family and friends, have prayed and prayed for the Lord to heal Jonah. And last week we were given proof that this is exactly what He is doing.
Last week, Peter and I trepidatiously entered a room filled with educational specialists, a speech language pathologist, an administrator, Jonah’s classroom teacher, and a psychologist. We listened as these educational experts discussed the battery of evaluations and exams they had conducted on our sweet Jonah. 
And we were blown away as test after test indicated Jonah’s abilities to be in the high average to above average range. Every. Single. Test.
These scores weren’t exactly a surprise to us because Jonah is very smart. But it was still quite a shock to see it all laid out on paper.
- All of Jonah’s hard work
- All of his time spent with Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists and ABA Therapists and Counselors and Special Education teachers
- All of our hard work and not-so-patient endurance at home
- And all of our prayers for this child
None of it was wasted.
Jonah has been officially released from special education services in the school system.
He is no longer classified as being on the autism spectrum for educational purposes. Medically, he continues to have this diagnosis as he still exhibits behaviors that are typical of a child with high functioning autism. But, educationally, for all intents and purposes, Jonah no longer has autism.
As the psychologist relayed this information to us, tears of gratitude and relief streamed down my face as an array of emotions coursed through my mind.
And I began to think of a passage of scripture I had recently read.
Psalm 136
I encourage you to pick up your Bible and read it. In this psalm, the author recounts God’s faithfulness to His people and follows each verse with these words: “His love endures forever.”
In light of our most recent miracle, I decided to write my own personal version of Psalm 136.
(And for the record – God is good and faithful no matter what. I realize there are many of you who are still waiting on your miracle. Or maybe your miracle has never come. I can honestly say that even if He hadn’t chosen to heal many of Jonah’s behaviors, the Lord would still be good. He has shown me over and over in the past few years that all I truly need is Him. And He has reminded me that His very nature is goodness and He can be nothing less.)
Here is my version of Psalm 136:
Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;
His love endures forever.
He alone does great wonders.
His love endures forever.
He lifts our eyes when we are downcast.
His love endures forever.
He meets us in our darkest hour.
His love endures forever.
He brings healing to our hearts and minds.
His love endures forever.
He is faithful when we are faithless.
His love endures forever.
He struck down the power of darkness in our lives.
His love endures forever.
He defeated our fears of autism.
His love endures forever.
He wrapped His arms around me in comfort.
His love endures forever.
He held us up when we couldn’t stand.
His love endures forever.
He unlocked Jonah’s world and brought him out of the depths.
His love endures forever.
He freed us from the enemy.
His love endures forever.
We will praise the God of heaven.
His love endures forever.
Awesome news!! Thanks for sharing your trials and triumphs. God is faithful, and His love endures forever.
Thanks, Dee!