Philipians 4

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:4-7.

These verses are filled with wisdom. I have been trying to memorize them like it's been tattooed to the back of my hand. I feel like I fall off the wagon often while living out these verses. I am embarrassed to say that my "gentleness" is not as evident as I would like it to be. Too often I lose me temper at my kids or my spouse or another driver on the road. Each time it happens I feel red in the face with embarrassment as if God is standing there shaking his head.

Tristen was recently diagnosed with ADHD. I have had so many different feelings about it that sometimes I just need to cry. It may seem minuscule to someone who has not delt with it, and to be honest, I had no idea how it affected an entire family before it happend to us. It was a shock to hear Tirsten's teachers suggest that something needed to be done on a clinical level. Before the actual diagnosis we have just delt with Tristen's rambunctiousness. He was our strong willed child.

I have been trying to find out as much as I can about the ADHD disorder and all of our treatment options. We refuse to let ADHD define Tristen. We have gained a lot of patience with him since learning about why he feels and acts the way he does. Jeff and I used to be against medications to treat ADHD, but now we are considering it. We are considering all of our options. No matter what we choose it is going to be a lot of work and also very expensive. The four most common treatment options I have found are Neurofeedback, Diet changes, medication and psychological therapy. Does any of that sound scary to you? It all scares the heck out of me. Mainly because my dear 7 year old son is the one who will have to experience it. Luckily he has a mom and dad who will not give up and will be there with him every step of the way. We remind him of that often. We have an appointment coming up to meet with a physician who specializes in behavorial disorders. I have so many questions and it's all so overwhelming. It makes me anxious. Which reminds me of Philipians 4.

In Philipians 4 I feel like Paul is telling me to thank God for what is going on with Tristen. Maybe it will make our family stronger. Hopefully it will make Tristen a stronger person. Too often I look for peace from other people when I should be seeking out peace from God. I am so exhausted. Pray Pray Pray. Thanks for your ears! Grace and Peace.