What I learned from my autistic son

I never thought that one day I would say this, but if my son were not special, I would not have become who I am today.

Autism is not a disease, you don’t see it on the child’s face, you don’t get diagnosed by running test, no! Autism is behavioral and because of that, only people skilled in this area are able to diagnose. I always say that, the day I assumed and accepted it was the starting point against myself. I changed—it was not Gabi who changed.

When I decided to change my life, my habits, my commitments in order to dedicate myself to my son, I had no idea how much I would get out of it. My focus was always him and when we break ourselves in order to be molded by God so we can glorify His Holy Name—we are blessed.

Trying to organize his day, I organized mine; improving his nutrition, I enriched mine; prioritizing him, I saw how much time I lost with things that were not worth it; seeking direction from God, I’ve become more dependent on Him; reading about it and turning part of my house into a treatment center, I discovered talents in me that I never dreamt that I had; sitting down and discovering my Gabi, I found myself in him, and I loved him more.

Through my son, God taught me to deny myself and by doing so, I became part of His plan.

Dear Mommy, just as Abraham did not refuse to do what God asked of him, in the same way, whenever you deny yourself and your feelings to sacrifice for your child, you are allowing yourself to be used by God, so that His Plans are fulfilled, both in your life as well as in your child’s.

Be strong! Sacrifice your Isaac and allow God to use you.

Let us prepare ourselves for the perfect sacrifice.