For at the past two years I have been praying about our life in Washington State. It began when I learned that Washington state has a law, that the age of consent for drug rehabilitation treatment and psychiatric treatment is 13. This means that at the age of 13, a child can get treatment without a parent’s knowledge. But it also means that they can refuse treatment that they need.
With a child who has psychiatric needs, this terrified me. Both my Husband and I felt we could not risk our child saying no to treatment. Recent legislation changes have made it easier for parents to get their children treatment, but the age still remains the same. Time was running out until our child would turn 13.
This led me to prayer. I explained the situation to The Lord. (Like he didn’t already understand it.😉) I pled with him to make a way that we could move to another state where this age of 13 wouldn’t apply.
My Husband has a job that he can work in any of the 50 states and even overseas, but transferring can be tricky. This past June, our son turned 13.
2 days before our child turned 13 my Husband received and email from his work. He was being offered a transfer to Memphis TN. We sat back in shock. We weren’t thinking about the ramifications of our son turning 13 that week, we weren’t thinking of our need to move. But The Lord had heard our prayers and out of his great love and kindness, made the way.
One of the issues of having a child with Special Needs is that you often need Medicaid to help care for your child. But each state’s Medicaid is different with what benefits you receive, who is eligible, how it is handled, etc. And then, even if the services you need in that state are covered, it doesn’t mean that you can find the supports you need for your child in that state.
The beauty of Memphis? It borders three states. This enables us to try to figure out which state will give our child the best access to the care needed and live there.
As He frequently does, God is still asking us to walk out in faith on many issues surrounding our move. And my take charge, planning brain is really struggling to let go and trust that God has our backs and will continue to go before us and make the way for us. Yet despite my wavering and anxiety, He keeps showing up and letting us know that He is leading us there, and that for us, though it may not seem logical, that is where He wants us.
We have no idea what the Memphis area will hold for us. We have no idea what the future will hold for our children, but I rest (most of the time), confident that God will go before us.
