What Autism Taught Me About Limits & the Goodness of God (with Jessica Hurlbut)

Missouri Digital NewsJune 1, 2024

38 2 minutes read

There are certain conversations and interviews that I know after having them, they will stick with me for a long time to come. This episode with Jessica Hurlbut, author of Unlimited Motherhood: Overcome 12 Limits That Overwhelm and Conflict Our Hearts, is one of those.

It touched and challenged me deeply… and it wasn’t just the interview with her that you’ll hear at the link below, but also our time before and after the interview. Jessica just oozes with kindness and grace and Jesus and her book and her life and this interview inspired me

Jessica is mom of five and two of her children have severe autism and of her children were adopted through foster care. Jessica has a heart for families who have children with disabilities and a passion for foster care and adoption — so we both have a lot of shared passion!

One of the most touching parts of our conversation (and of her book) was Jessica’s transparency about her struggles and her candidness about walking through what she calls the “hidden years of motherhood”. For her, these were years filled with isolation and relentless difficulties, especially when it came to having multiple little ones, fostering, and learning to navigate having two children with autism. But it was during these times that she learned invaluable lessons about surrender, trust, and finding beauty in the unexpected.

I can almost guarantee you that you’ll be richly blessed by listening to this episode. Jessica’s faith in the goodness of God — despite the dark days of motherhood — really convicted me! Jessica’s insights and experiences will encourage you to lean into God’s grace and trust Him even when things feel overwhelming.

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In This Episode

[0:35] – Join me for this episode as I interview Jessica Hurlbut, author of Unlimited Motherhood!
[1:33] – Jessica’s journey of mothering children with autism, fostering, and then adopting two young children.
[5:42] – What it was like to walk through eight isolating years as a stay-at-home mom to a child with autism.
[9:33] – I ask Jessica to share how she grieved the loss of what she pictured her life would be.
[11:58] – Our lives are almost always so much different than we envisioned, but also so much better.
[17:11] – What faithfulness looks like in our every day lives.
[18:07] – Motherhood isn’t about controlling outcomes or being a supermom but is about learning deep trust in God.
[22:47] – Jessica shares a powerful story of living radically courageous, even when other people didn’t understand.
[26:39] – The story isn’t tied up with a neat bow, but it’s a reminder that God doesn’t call us to success but to faithfulness.