Diane Dokko Kim courageously offers in her new book, Unbroken Faith, her account of the extreme testing of her faith, self-identity, and parenting abilities, while raising her son with severe autism.
Kim speaks of how utterly unqualified she felt for the role of mom and advocate for her son with special needs. Her vision for her parenting and caretaker role had to shift from the traditional 18 years to extend to her entire lifetime. Until she found a church with a program for children with special needs, she wasn’t able to sit through a full church service. She shares how dealing with the common misunderstandings that others have about her son and herself as a parent often make the situation more difficult.
Though she’s a strong follower of Jesus, learning of her son’s diagnosis and walking out the daily struggles rocked her to the core of her faith.
“The world breaks everyone and afterward
many are strong in the broken places.”
~ Hemingway
I loved Diane’s example of God calling Peter and John to act courageously though they were unschooled, ordinary men (Acts 4:13-16). Her reminder that God calls the unqualified to do His work encourages us in our own battles and challenges us to see disability from God’s point of view.
The insights in Unbroken Faith offer encouragement to all to lean into our own areas of difficult callings. Above all, it’s a book of hope.
Thank you to Diane Kim for writing this courageous book. May it reach those who need to read it:
* parents raising kids with special needs–to offer fresh courage,
* friends, family, and churches who need to support these families–to open eyes to the needs,
* and all who must lean into their own herculean battles–to trust the One who gives us strength for each day.
