Being a parent is an exciting and challenging experience – to put it lightly.

It will undoubtedly be the most important job that one will ever have. It’s full of worry, concern, joy, defeat, and love – just to name a few.

The truth is, it isn’t easy to describe what being a parent is like. But one thing is for sure, it’s the gift of a lifetime. Though beautiful in nature, you simply never know what circumstances will arise.

Stephanie Hanrahan is a wife and a mother of two young children, Campbell, 5, and Eli, 3. They may look like the perfect family but in truth, they have faced, and continue to face, an uphill battle.

Stephanie’s husband, Shawn, has a heart condition that left him unresponsive on the floor. Campbell and Eli are both autistic and live with the possibility of inheriting their father’s rare heart condition. A 50% chance, to be exact.

On top of it all was the daunting task of sending her children off to school. She knew that her children needed extra patience and care. She was worried that the teachers would lack both.

When she sent Campbell to preschool, at 4-years-old, she loved it at first. But by the third day, she was tired and overwhelmed. Sending her back was difficult. Campbell threw a tantrum but Stephanie took her to school anyway.

To her surprise, the teacher took the little girl into her arms and told Stephanie to go. She did. Fortunately, Campbell received that sort of patience, love, and care throughout the entire year.

“A bridge of trust had been built, and since then, neither of us have looked back,” she wrote on Love What Matters.

But when it was time for Campbell to move onto Kindergarten, her fears returned. So she went and spoke with the principal about her daughter and her condition. The principal reassured her that Campbell would have the best care.

Stephanie was put at ease after the principal explained their way of doing things at the school.

She made the right choice as Campbell has thrived.

Those same fears were present when it was time to send Eli to school.

One day, his teacher friended Stephanie on Facebook. And as we often do with new friends, she scrolled through her page. When doing so, she stumbled across a picture of the woman holding a chalkboard that read, “I said YES” on it.

Stephanie knew that the teacher was already married and didn’t know exactly what she had said yes to. It turned out the teacher was asked to teach an autism-specific classroom. And she said yes.

The teacher continued, stating that it was a dream of hers to do so and that the opportunity was an answer to her prayers. Stephanie couldn’t keep from crying. Her son would be in great hands after all.

Stephanie writes, “I didn’t choose to have special needs children, but these teachers did. Every day they willingly walk into a job that requires more work than we can possibly imagine. And they’re doing it happily. Faithfully! Honorably! They wanted this. They wanted my child.”

The world needs your children, Stephanie! They are just as great as everybody else.

If you’re interested in hearing more about Stephanie and her family, you can visit her website here.

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Sources: Love What Matters, Tinkles Her Pants, Shareably