Things Are Tough All Over!

Before I go any further on this one, two things:

      1.) I'm preachin' to the choir here. 

              And, 

      B.) We've already established that I am NOT an expert.

Yesterday, as I put my last child on the school bus....the child that had had an hour-long meltdown before 7am.....and that had made me feel like the worst parent in the world....again....I had to remind myself AGAIN that "things are tough all over." 

"Things are tough all over" was something my parents would say when we were being whiney and complaining about something we didn't have, something we didn't want to do, etc. Basically, "quit your whining and get over it!"

Especially when it comes to parenting, I have a tendency to think that I'm the only one who is having a hard time. That this season of parenting is SO hard. (But if I look back, I know I said that during every parenting season.)  And I'll be honest. I've played the "but I have kids with special needs" card a time or two. Because parenting is hard, folks....plain and simple.

But parenting is just as hard for the first-time parent who is sleep deprived as it is for those who are sending their child off to college for the first time. It's just as hard for those who homeschool as it is for those who put their kids on the bus every day. It's just as hard for the parents of a child with physical needs as it is for those who have a child who makes poor choices. (I could go on and on, but you get my drift.)  And that's because it really isn't about our circumstances. It's that we love our kids and we agonize over them and want what's best for them. I sometimes think that "the grass is always greener," but that's not the case. And you know what they say about comparison. It's the death of contentment....and joy.

(Just recalling another season the Lord helped us weather.)

Something else I've been chewing on lately is this whole idea that God won't give me more than I can handle. (I think I really started processing this over the summer while I was reading Kisses From Katie by Katie Davis. If you haven't read this, it's a must-read. I dare you to not be challenged in some way.) I think He absolutely allows us to have more than we can handle in our lives, but not more than we can handle with His help. So that when we look back, we will be able to say that we only made it through because of Him. And only He will deserve the credit.   

And even though I sometimes need the little kick I the pants, I'm not really saying, "stop whining and get over it."  I guess the encouragement is this: You are not alone. We are all in this together. Do your best and, even if it doesn't feel like it.....you will survive.