Apart from worshipping Jesus, loving these people is the most important job I have. Being a wife and mom has a way of sandpapering a person's rough edges. There have been times in my journey in these roles when I felt like God was taking a belt sander to my soul. Can anyone relate?
I wholeheartedly believe I am the helper/lover to my husband and my kids. God has given me a way to know each of them, to know their strengths and weaknesses, their confidences and their fears, their senses of humor and their sassy mouths, when they need time with me and time alone.
Chad and I have been married for just about 20 years. What a crazy adventure! If you would have told us when we were 21 that we would live in Tucson, AZ leading a church of young 20s and 30s, I would have raised my eyebrows and called you crazy. Chad and I have grown up together, worked side by side, partnered in parenting, and partnered in leading, and we've only wanted to kill each other a million times. No, that's not true. We actually work pretty darn well together. I can say I never get tired of him. I think he can say the same of me. I love that man so stinking much it makes my guts turn all around and upside down. Whew. I can hardly handle it.
Marriage requires selflessness, and parenting just flat out requires you to lay down your life. These four kids have my heart. Let me tell you that parenting teenagers is so stinking great! Are they punks sometimes? Most definitely. Does it ruin this stage? No way. I just love it. When my kids were little I would laugh at them, their silliness, clumsiness, cuteness. But now, my kids intentionally make me laugh and I laugh with them. Our conversations are rich, and we get to play Ticket to Ride which is way more fun for me than Candy Land.
My focus through the years has been to fully engage my kids through each and every stage, the good, easy, hard, and exhausting, with the hope and prayer to reap the fruit of fantastic teenage years and ultimately, to have adult children who are Chad's and my very good friends. So far, I'm enjoying the truth that each stage is better than the last.
Do you want to know more about this? Here are a few posts for you:
