Parenting is no easy task, and once you have had kids you realize that it truly is one of the hardest things in life you will ever do. Subconsciously we all hope that our kids will be perfect. Many of us would never admit to this, but our reactions to our children's less than perfect behavior says differently.
We all face seasons as a parent that are just plain hard. Thankfully they are only seasons, but when you are in the trenches you wonder if you will ever get out. Much of our parenting career has been in the trenches. When you have 1 child who was born a preemie, and 2 who spent some time during crucial developmental years in an orphanage; there are going to be issues. Many of the issues we have in our house seem normal to us, but to the general public we are most definitely "short bus" special.
Lately some of our children's issues have escalated making our trench seem much deeper and harder. But I am here to tell you there is always beauty within the ashes. It's just a matter of taking the time to look for the beauty. This week I've been very convicted of my wrong focus in life and that despite how hard this parenting gig may seem, there is hope.
There are people praying for you. People encouraging you and cheering you along with very sweet words and messages. There are people who are willing to jump in with you and help. There are also people who are right beside you in the trenches fighting a similar fight and they totally get it. YOU.ARE.NOT.ALONE.
And then there are very random days where everything seems perfect. A perfect day when the abnormal issues your children possess just simply do not exist. A day where there are no hour long fits, a day where food issues don't exist, a day where lying and destructiveness aren't even a second thought, a day with no sensory meltdowns, and a day when your children can actually be unsupervised and trusted for a short period of time. Days like this give hope for weeks to come.
So don't lose hope. But instead, hope endlessly.
