{"id":3241,"date":"2012-11-05T05:05:01","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T10:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/simplelife\/?p=3241"},"modified":"2012-11-06T14:12:46","modified_gmt":"2012-11-06T19:12:46","slug":"to-move-or-not-to-move","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html","title":{"rendered":"To move or not to move"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Leonard is a handsome young man who was separated from him siblings at birth. \u00a0The State of Florida convinced his widowed mother that she could not take care of another child, especially one who was intellectually disabled like Leonard. \u00a0Therefore, the other children never knew about their brother.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The brothers and sisters were all under eight years old; and they didn’t understand that their mother was pregnant when their father died. \u00a0When she left for a few days, they didn’t know that she had a baby. \u00a0She made weekly trips to visit him every Saturday; but she never told them about him.<\/p>\n

As their mother was about to die, they learned about their brother. \u00a0They began a search; but they could not find him. \u00a0Finally after 15 years, they simply googled his name and found him. \u00a0These are successful men and women who are Christians.<\/p>\n

Even though it had been more than 30 years, they arranged a meeting. \u00a0Then they began to schedule visits with him. \u00a0Several months ago, they moved their brother to another city in our state which is much closer to them. \u00a0Reports from him have been discouraging. \u00a0Our understanding is that Leonard has tried to commit suicide.<\/p>\n

I have no idea that this report is true. \u00a0However, this I do know. \u00a0It is a tricky thing to move a family member away from their friends and familiar surroundings. \u00a0Many times, siblings make promises to their parents that they will take a brother or sister who is developmentally disabled into their homes when the parents die.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Most siblings try hard to fulfill this commitment. \u00a0However, there is one factor than many parents and siblings forget to consider–the person who is mentally challenged. \u00a0Many times, they don’t want to move. \u00a0They have friends and their lives are established. \u00a0They must leave their homes, their rooms, all their things. \u00a0At times, siblings need permission to be released from an unworkable situation. \u00a0Other times, siblings may need added help in finding ways to help their brother or sister adjust to new surroundings.<\/p>\n

While Leonard is a member of the mentally challenged community, there are millions of parents and children who are needing help. \u00a0Old family structures are changing. \u00a0Middle aged children are now taking care of their parents. \u00a0Adult children are no longer moving from their family home until late 20’s or early 30’s. \u00a0Have you found something that works in these hard situations?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Leonard is a handsome young man who was separated from him siblings at birth. \u00a0The State of Florida convinced his widowed mother that she could not take care of another child, especially one who was intellectually disabled like Leonard. \u00a0Therefore, the other children never knew about their brother. The brothers and sisters were all under…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":387,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,20,3,182,40,186,49,16,147,8,4,41],"tags":[690,21,688,696,7,699,715,701,694,689,568,6,700],"class_list":["post-3241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-autism-spectrum","category-christianity","category-church","category-developmental-disabilities","category-disability","category-faith","category-hope","category-inspiration","category-intellectual-disability","category-leadership","category-mentally-challenged-community","category-simple-truths","category-spirituality","tag-autism-spectrum","tag-christian","tag-christianity","tag-church","tag-developmental-disabilities-2","tag-faith","tag-hope","tag-inspiration","tag-intellectual-disability","tag-mentally-challenged-community","tag-siblings-of-people-who-are-intellectually-disabled","tag-simple-scriptural-truths","tag-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nTo move or not to move - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"To move or not to move - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Leonard is a handsome young man who was separated from him siblings at birth. \u00a0The State of Florida convinced his widowed mother that she could not take care of another child, especially one who was intellectually disabled like Leonard. \u00a0Therefore, the other children never knew about their brother. The brothers and sisters were all under…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-11-05T10:05:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-11-06T19:12:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/leonard.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda G. Howard\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"To move or not to move - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"nofollow"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"To move or not to move - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","og_description":"Leonard is a handsome young man who was separated from him siblings at birth. \u00a0The State of Florida convinced his widowed mother that she could not take care of another child, especially one who was intellectually disabled like Leonard. \u00a0Therefore, the other children never knew about their brother. The brothers and sisters were all under…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html","og_site_name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","article_published_time":"2012-11-05T10:05:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-11-06T19:12:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/leonard.jpg"}],"author":"Linda G. Howard","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html","name":"To move or not to move - A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/leonard.jpg","datePublished":"2012-11-05T10:05:01+00:00","dateModified":"2012-11-06T19:12:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/leonard.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/specialgathering.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/11\/leonard.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/2012\/11\/to-move-or-not-to-move.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"To move or not to move"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/","name":"A Simple Life, a Childlike Faith","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Linda Howard","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/#\/schema\/person\/a10d3530d8432a656d648135fe6da739","name":"Linda G. Howard","description":"Linda G. Howard is the best-selling and award-winning author of four books, including MOTHERS ARE PEOPLE, TOO and THE SECRET LIFE OF A HOUSEWIFE. Currently, she serves as area director of The Special Gathering, a ministry within the mentally challenged community. Additionally, she is the co-publisher and editor of CONNECTING POINT, the ministry newsletter. Her husband is a retired aerospace technologist who worked for NASA. They have three children and four grandchildren.","sameAs":["http:\/\/specialgathering.wordpress.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/author\/lhoward"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3242,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241\/revisions\/3242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/simplelife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}