Saturday, September 6, 2008

Surrender To Your Hero

"My Hero" by Michele E. Struss. Please visit her site for her story and amazing work, available for purchase










For a few years now, I have been convincing myself that I have surrendered many things in my life to the Lord. It sounded good, so I’ve said it over and over again. But it wasn’t until recently that I truly learned what it meant—and honestly did it.

My daughter is a person with hemiplegic cerebral palsy---the muscles on the left side of her body are tight, as a result of a brain injury from an infection when she was an infant. She is six years old now, and she does extremely well. She wears braces on her legs for support and balance, and she has an incredible, independent spirit.
She started Kindergarten this week—at a “big school” with lots and lots of steps. She is very capable of climbing steps, she just does it at her own pace—and since steps are part of the world, my husband and I wanted her to go to her home school with her big brother.

So she did.

A few months ago I made the conscious decision to lay all my thoughts and fears regarding this transition to the Lord. We needed someone at the school to be around her during the most crucial times of her school day, to keep her safe. I laid this all at His feet, and said, “I know you will send the perfect person to our school for this position, someone with a heart that will see and feel what my daughter needs.”

And He did.

The bus was also a concern of mine, and once again, I submitted everything to Him, and said, “I know you will send us a bus driver with a compassionate heart, and will ensure her safety as she climbs the big steps on and off the bus.”

And He did.

I have been holding on to her for so long, that I knew it was time. He has been petitioning me to trust Him for her safety and her progress, and I think He is very proud of me this week.

He has shown me that He has been holding on to her all her life. He is the one that catches her when she falls, He is the one watching over her and keeping her safe.

The painting shown above is very near and dear to my heart. The artist is an amazing woman that is a person with a disability, also. If you look closely, you will see that the little girl in the picture has fallen, and her crutches that she uses to walk are lying by her side.

This painting, “My Hero” is the epitome of my surrender.

He is watching over my daughter, and all children with disabilities and helping them up when they fall.

He is in control of it all. He chose special parents to parent children with disabilities—we need to trust that He is guiding us with each and every decision we have to make.

He is our hero.

He is the father of all of us, and He wants us to depend on Him for each and every thought, decision, and action.

And He is rejoicing with joy when we surrender it all to Him.


My prayer is that these words will resound in your spirit today and take root.

What are you holding on to?

He’s your hero, too— He is watching over you, and will help you up each time you fall.






Maria and her family reside in NE Ohio. She and her husband are the parents of two. Their daughter is a person with hemipelegic cerebral palsy.Because of her experiences, Maria provides parent-to-parent support for families involved in her local early intervention program.

Her gift for writing has come directly from the Lord since her daughter’s diagnosis. She writes a monthly column entitled, “Special Parents, Special Kids” for the Mahoning Valley Parent magazine in Ohio; and has expanded into Parent magazines in parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is also a contributing author at
www.mommiesmagazine.com.

Maria's first published work is in Jan Ross and Jeanice McDade's Women of Passion's anthology, "Ordinary Women Serving an Extraordinary God". Both Kim and Maria have been selected to have their work tentatively included in Lori Wagner,s upcoming book, Quilting Patches of Life, Volume 2.

Maria is very passionate about getting the word out to special parents that they are not alone in their journey of raising their special child; and that they were chosen by God to parent their children. Maria welcomes comments and communication as well as invitations for her to speak to your group.





No comments: