I cannot reach the things stored on top of the kitchen cabinets. I am limited in my ability to reach up there without some help. The kitchen stool is often the help I need or my husband or son if they are nearby. I have limits.

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month. Through this month I want to write a bit on various topics relating to Down syndrome. This is about limits not just with those with Down syndrome but how each of us deals with limits on ourself and on others.

Here are some limited thoughts on Living with Limits. Limited because of word count, the time it takes to write, and other limits that I have in life.

God is Not Limited

I have limits but God is not limited.

God’s knowledge is beyond limits. “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!” Romans 11:33.

Do you ever pick up your mobile phone and press the button to enter your code and then discover the battery is dead? Not much can be done with a dead battery except charge it. The strength or power for the phone is depleted, gone. God’s strength is limitless. We can never use up his strength. He does not need to recharge. Psalm 65 speaks of God’s strength in creation.

God’s loving-kindness is limitless. He loves all of us and he knows each of us. He knows our name, he knows the number of hairs on our head, he loves us with unending love.

There are other ways that God is not limited. Ponder those and see just how marvellous and wonderful our God truly is. He is without limits.

Limits we Have

I have lots of limits in my life besides not being able to reach the top shelf. There are physical and intellectual limits. We need to understand and know that is the way God made us.

At times I try to push those limits and be like God. I need to remember that God created me with limits so that I would learn to depend on him, seek his wisdom, and know his power.

The bank has given me a spending limit on my credit card. There is a speed limit which the government has placed a limit on how fast I can drive on the roads. I need to live within the limits that have been placed on me. I have limited time, just 24 hours a day and I need to sleep as well.

There are limits that I place on myself when I say, “I can’t do that.” Maybe it is time to push and see what you can do.

Living with Limits

There are some limits that we need to accept as that is part of how God has created us. There are limits that others place and they are for my protection and good. I need to see that and accept it.

We may need to learn to be content with the limits that we have in our life. – (Ouch, I think that was written just for me at this time. I am not content with the limits following surgery.)

God can use our limits as we submit and follow his leading. We might be limited in what we can do but God can use our limits.

Limits we Place on Others

We place limits on our children for their protection. As my daughter has shown that she is able, we have allowed her to go to the shops alone but for a long time, we didn’t allow her to go out without a responsible person for her safety. She would just run across the road. For her protection, we placed a limit on what she could do. As she has matured, we had changed the limit.

We place limits on children for their health. “No, you cannot eat 12 chocolate chip cookies even though they are warm and taste so good.” It is not healthy.

We place limits because we have wisdom and knowledge that our children don’t have.

The same is true with Special Needs parents though the limits need to be in line with what the child is capable of doing. Limits can change over time and we need to be willing to reset the limits.

Placing limits on Children with Special Needs

Just like the above limits that we place on others, we often place more limits on children with special needs. We are quick to decide what a person can and cannot do. Some of that is based on the labels they have. Labels are not all wrong they are helpful and needed.

What can the child do? Are you giving them the freedom to explore and have a scraped knee? Can you adapt things do the child can participate? Carefully look at the limits that you are placing on your child and evaluate if that is still needed. Make a place on how you can grow and get rid of the limit.

There are times that we need to place limits on children with special needs. My daughter wants to be a doctor at the children’s hospital. I need to lovingly guide her to find a way to live with her limits. We have talked about other ways that she can help sick children and so we are looking for those opportunities that will be within the limits of what she can do. I need to help her live within the limits she has.

When working with a child with special needs, talk with the parents about what limits need to be placed on the child. Don’t place limits without knowing the child and the parents.

Be careful about placing limits on yourself and others. Yet at the same time, realize that we live in a world with limits. Look to God for wisdom in how do deal with these limits.

Here are some other posts regarding Down Syndrome and Disability:

Who are the Disabled?

Don’t Pity Me Because I am a Special Needs Mom. 

Leave a comment below regarding what you have learned about limits in your own life.