Carrying the burden

If you knew pre special needs mom me well, you know that I am an avoid conflict at all cost person. It use to drive Brent nuts when we first started dating how often I would say sorry because I would say it for stupid little things. I don't like conflict. I don't thrive on conflict but as I go through life I find it is my responsibility to learn about to deal with conflict in a constructive manor because people are not going to listen to someone yelling, at least I know I don't, but I also know there are too many issues to sit still and be quite. 

But one of the things that has been on my mind the past few days is how often the work to improve something falls on the shoulders of the ones who are being hurt by it. I didn't see this as much until I dove into the special needs community.

If you follow me on facebook you have watched my frustration this week about ACA. Trust me, if you were in my shoes you would be scarred right now too. ACA makes it so my kids can't be dropped for their pre existing conditions or because they hit their lifetime cap. It makes it so they can't be charged more for healthcare because they are girls. These are all things that I consider basic human decency.  Because face it, anyone at any time could have something happen that could then be considered a pre existing condition or make you hit your life time max... cancer, heart attach, stroke, the list goes on and on. But the ones that are fighting right now and not being listened to are those of us that are being effected right now. We are the ones carrying the stress. I heard someone say this week that being able to turn a blind eye to all of this is not a privileged some of us have. Cause if the bill doesn't get paid med supply doesn't deliver life sustaining things for my children. Did you let the impact of that last sentence hit you?

I've written politicians... haven't gotten a response. I plan to write more but their votes are telling me that they don't care about healthcare for kids like mine. Can you imagine how that feels? What burden that is like to carry? I'm not anti republican or pro Democratic, I'm pro doing the right thing. There has been nothing that has come out to make the ACA better, there is no working to fix the parts that are not working as well as we want, nor are they doing anything to keep the parts that are working despite some of them promising they would, no, its through it all in the trash.

I was thinking this morning how much easier it would be to bury my head in the sand if this didn't all effect me so personally, but I am glad it does effect me so personally because I am glad I have my girls. My prayer about the girls is that they are used for God's glory, and maybe this is one situation that we are in so that we can help others, so we can be the voice.

My heart has been broken multiple times about this lately, but one of the things that I have seen said multiple times in special needs groups this week is that the church doesn't care about what happens to kids, the disabled, or the poor. Its not just one person saying this, I have seen it in multiple places and the thought is picking up speed. Why? Because they say that christians voted people into office only based on the abortion issue knowing the republican stance on healthcare and to them it says that Christians care about saving babies from abortion but they don't care if the family is struggling once the child is born, that the church no longer cares what happens to that person. Church we have a PR problem... the world should see us as loving and caring for ALL people, not with a political agenda... cause political agendas don't bring people to Jesus. This is not an us vs them problem, this one is all on us because if this is how we are perceived then we have failed. Our job as Christians is to come along side people and help them to carry their load. By the comments I'm seeing that the church is pro life but anti living, we are not helping to carry this load. Why would you attend church if you thought the church didn't care if your child lives or dies!?

So I've come out of my shell. I'm not going to sit quite anymore. I'm going to be respectful becuase I fully believe that is the best way to get things done. There are things that I think are wrong in this world; sex trafficking, hunger, children living in awful situations, and people dying due to lack of healthcare. I am thankful that I am a part of a church that fights against sex trafficking and helps with foster care, but man my heart is broken this week for the community that feels like the church doesn't care about them. This is why I spend my time volunteering for Tubie Friends, am on a comity working to build an inclusive playground, I raise money for Children's Hospital, and help with donations for Ronald McDonald House. My life is busy, I have a lot to do to take care of the girls and we are the ones that are once again about to be let down by the system... What are you doing to love others and what are you doing to make sure that kids like mine have access to healthcare? I don't always get it right and I can't fix everything but I have to try. Because I am a testament of someone ACA personally changed their healthcare situation, but I see a lot of kids that are about to be the testament of what happens when it goes away. Please help carry this burden.