Counting the cost of anything is a good plan. We plan as we build or purchase a home, making sure we have enough money to do what’s needed. We plan as we make a budget knowing the amount of money coming in and where it will be spent. But how many of us counted the cost (both emotionally and financially) of what it would take to raise a child and/or care for an aging parent? Many are doing both.
According to Autism Speaks statistics, the lifetime cost of raising a child with autism in much higher than most would imagine and families shoulder much of that burden. One doesn’t always consider that someone might wear diapers for the course of their lifetime, or the special chairs necessary for transport or feeding will come close to the cost of a small car.
Image from @cameramandan83 on Unsplash
Beyond our pocketbook, most of us have never counted the cost of:
Our own health as caregivers
The stress this kind of 24/7 care causes
Compassion fatigue
Counseling
Lack of support (family/friends)
Lack of sleep
Interruptions-all the time
Relationship strains: marital, family, extended family, and friends
Time spent taking our loved one to therapies, counseling, behavioral helps
Eventual long-term care for our child and/or us
Because we love our child, we don’t often consider the cost because we simply do what is needed and want the best for them.
If there is anything for which we want to count the cost, may it be simply love. Yes, it’s hard work, sleepless nights for years, and many other challenging things but God gives us strength when we need it, brand new days for which we can give thanks, and love that (thankfully) is endless.
Dr. Joe and Cindi Ferrini share their newest book: Love All-Ways: Embracing Marriage Together on the Special Needs Journey (order at www.cindiferrini.com). They are authors, speakers, and bloggers for several blogging sites on marriage, family and special needs. They spoke nationally for FamilyLife Weekend To Remember Marriage Get-a-Ways for 20 years, authored *Unexpected Journey – When Special Needs Change our Course, and have been interviewed on Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, Janet Parshall at “In the Market”, and various other radio and television venues. Connect with them at: www.cindiferrini.com
and via social media at:
www.facebook.com/cindi.ferrini
