My daughter sat there struggling, tears falling onto the paper beneath her. It wasn’t supposed to be this hard. For months, she had been stalled, unable to remember any new phonics rules that would help improve her reading fluency. And it wasn’t for lack of effort. If you speak with her, you’d never know the challenges she faces. But she knows. She knows all the frustration, the feelings of being left behind, the struggle without any improvement. She recognizes that children years younger than her have surpassed her reading, spelling, and writing abilities. She feels like she’s less than her peers and doesn’t believe me when I tell her she’s wrong. Battling a learning disability can be incredibly discouraging for kids. How can we help them think about their disabilities in light of the gospel? Five Reasons to Rejoice A right understanding of learning disabilities acknowledges the hardship that comes from having one, yet still rejoices in God’s good gifts. Here are five ways to rejoice amid the struggles. 1. Rejoice in a Good Creator The knowledge that God is in control of their learning disabilities has comforted my children and me. In Exodus 4, Moses tells the Lord of his difficulty with speaking and asks him to send someone else to speak to the Israelites. The Lord quickly rebukes Moses, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute or deaf, or seeing, or blind?” (v. 11). God carefully designed every aspect of how Moses was made. Similarly, we can trust that our good Maker chose to give learning disabilities to those who have them. Nothing in our children’s design was a mistake. 2. Rejoice in Strengths Our children need to be reminded that God didn’t just give them a weakness in learning; he also gave them strengths. My children who struggle in school are phenomenal athletes, experienced bakers, accomplished artists, and kind, generous friends. They process information differently from me and are able to solve problems creatively because of it. They’re making the world more beautiful in many ways because of how God made them. Nothing in our children’s design was a mistake. 3. Rejoice in Dependence When my children were toddlers, there came an inevitable stage that all children seem to reach. Toddlers foolishly declare they can do everything on their own. Too many people never grow out of that stage and spend their lives asserting their autonomy. Learning disabilities can cause a humbling recognition of our limitations and dependence on God. They can help our kids see their need for strength that comes from the Lord. 4. Rejoice in Growth Learning disabilities also give kids the opportunity to grow in virtue. Dyslexia requires my children to persevere, growing them in resiliency and strength. They get to see the fruit of hard work as they mature. As Paul explains in Romans 5:3–4, “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.” Hard days are plentiful, but so is God’s grace as our kids persevere in suffering. 5. Rejoice in True Worth During the formal school years, children are often asked about their grades, their favorite subject, and what they’re learning. For a child with a learning disability, school can be a constant source of frustration and embarrassment. I often remind my kids that academic progress doesn’t measure who they are, and they don’t need to prove their worth through grades or honors programs. They can rejoice that their identity and worth come from being created in the image of God—the God who values them so much that he sent his Son to die for them. Hard days are plentiful, but so is God’s grace as our kids persevere in suffering. Not long ago, we celebrated one of my children reaching reading fluency that I was told she’d never attain. She can now read the Bible on her own. God has been kind to let us celebrate this milestone. The same God who made her with a disability was faithful to her as she persevered. And she can be sure that his grace, which she has experienced in this difficulty, will be there in the next hardship too. She has tasted his sufficiency in her weakness and is one step closer to understanding that remarkable paradox that only exists in Christ—“When I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:10).

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