Pray for Me Please

Please pray for me. One of my closest autism mom friends called me this morning and asked me to testify at a hearing in front of legislators on the need for ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) therapy for children with autism. The big deal about ABA is many children have gotten significantly better when ABA is taught at the earliest of ages (like around two) and intensely (8 hours a day). Insurance presently does not cover ABA services and it is so expensive no one can really afford it out of pocket. Several moms of children with autism have formed this task force to get this changed in hopes that insurance will cover some of this therapy and children can get the help they need. I am so proud to call these moms my friends. They have worked tirelessly trying to get attention for the autism community. What she told me she needed me to do was to just "tell Evan's story." Wow! How can I put into words what autism is like for my sweet child every day of his life? When I think about all Evan has to struggle with, words just seem inadequate. Public speaking scares me to death, but for some reason, I am not as panicked about it as the day has worn on. I'm feeling more like "what a gift!" I get the undivided attention of these legislators that could actually change things to give our children the chance at a life! I haven't even begun to write what I am going to say. I have just been spending some time in my thoughts first. I am praying God will give me the words to say that will make the biggest impact with the little time I will have with the legislators. I am praying for these legislators to have a tender heart toward us moms that are bearing are souls in front of them. Will you pray that, too? Thank you so much! And, if you think about it, I should be shaking in the State Capital at about 10:30 a.m. on Thursday if you would like to say a prayer for me then. :)

Oh, and I wanted to share this with you. This was the Arkansas sky last night from my front side walk...