The Good in the Hard
Admittedly, I avoid hard plenty in my life.
From spending more time in the drive-thru to avoid taking 3 wild ones in for a bagel, to skipping elective school or sporting activities, there are things in life that just "aren't worth it".
But raising kids requires me to reframe the idea of "too hard" and remember that I'm growing young adults who will eventually be part of the work force and God-willing, parents themselves!
So at times it's important to see the good in the hard and push into those growth opportunities.
I can think of many times in the last 15-20 years that myself or my husband have felt like it's not worth the hard.
Sometimes we were right, and sometimes the hard found us anyway.
The reward at the end of a hard experience is unlike those that are achieved with ease.
The sweat of your brow really does reinforce the value of an experience and turns that hard-earned lesson into wisdom.
From marriage to parenting, difficulty has proved a fertilizer for our relationship.
Challenging conversations, differing views and sometimes outright passionate disagreements have stretched us and threatened our comfort.
Those moments and instances have also bonded us in ways we never would have been without the trouble.
We proved our strength and our fight and in that, intimacy grew.
The biggest elephant in the room for our marriage for years was the size of our family.
I'm ever so hesitant to put this in writing because our 3rd child must never think she wasn't wanted (because OH HOW SHE WAS LONGED FOR).
That wasn't even what the disagreement was about.
In the end, it was about how God's hand would move us against our will and push us into what was so right and good for our family.
Despite the hard.
At times we get wrapped up in the idea that we are it.
We.Are.It.
And if we are exhausted, done in, maxed out, then WHY would we add anything more to our plate?
Isn't that where God loves to meet us and challenge our authority over ours lives?
Where He says, Yep, this may feel hard but it's going to be SO GOOD.
So good.
If God is allowing you to be in the hard right now, don't lose sight of His good that is always there.
He will sustain you in the most beautiful way.
Will it be messy?
You betcha.
Will it hurt?
Sometimes.
Does it mean He's not in it?
Nope. He's there and He's not surprised which means He has got this.
God is growing you into the finest version of YOU, a you you didn't even know was possible.
It'll be glorious, lovely, perfect, divine.
There is good in the hard.
Sometimes He will ask you to trust that when proof is lacking for the moment, but He won't leave you hanging.
From spending more time in the drive-thru to avoid taking 3 wild ones in for a bagel, to skipping elective school or sporting activities, there are things in life that just "aren't worth it".
But raising kids requires me to reframe the idea of "too hard" and remember that I'm growing young adults who will eventually be part of the work force and God-willing, parents themselves!
So at times it's important to see the good in the hard and push into those growth opportunities.
I can think of many times in the last 15-20 years that myself or my husband have felt like it's not worth the hard.
Sometimes we were right, and sometimes the hard found us anyway.
The reward at the end of a hard experience is unlike those that are achieved with ease.
The sweat of your brow really does reinforce the value of an experience and turns that hard-earned lesson into wisdom.
From marriage to parenting, difficulty has proved a fertilizer for our relationship.
Challenging conversations, differing views and sometimes outright passionate disagreements have stretched us and threatened our comfort.
Those moments and instances have also bonded us in ways we never would have been without the trouble.
We proved our strength and our fight and in that, intimacy grew.
The biggest elephant in the room for our marriage for years was the size of our family.
I'm ever so hesitant to put this in writing because our 3rd child must never think she wasn't wanted (because OH HOW SHE WAS LONGED FOR).
That wasn't even what the disagreement was about.
In the end, it was about how God's hand would move us against our will and push us into what was so right and good for our family.
Despite the hard.
At times we get wrapped up in the idea that we are it.
We.Are.It.
And if we are exhausted, done in, maxed out, then WHY would we add anything more to our plate?
Isn't that where God loves to meet us and challenge our authority over ours lives?
Where He says, Yep, this may feel hard but it's going to be SO GOOD.
So good.
If God is allowing you to be in the hard right now, don't lose sight of His good that is always there.
He will sustain you in the most beautiful way.
Will it be messy?
You betcha.
Will it hurt?
Sometimes.
Does it mean He's not in it?
Nope. He's there and He's not surprised which means He has got this.
God is growing you into the finest version of YOU, a you you didn't even know was possible.
It'll be glorious, lovely, perfect, divine.
There is good in the hard.
Sometimes He will ask you to trust that when proof is lacking for the moment, but He won't leave you hanging.
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