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Showing posts from March, 2018

Seasons of Fear and Illness

There are some seasons of life that we really didn’t ask for or seek out, that in turn throw up big questions to God, questions of “why me?”, “How did this happen?”, “How long is this going to be?”, “How can I face tomorrow?” And maybe alongside these questions are cries of desperation, fear and inadequacy. ”I don’t think I can do this anymore”, “I don’t know what to do next”, “I’m overcome by worry”. These were some of my cries and questions in a season of great fear and anxiety. For me, the circumstances that precipitated this season were centred around parenting teenagers. In every life stage of raising children, I have had many challenges, and each child has had their own particular one’s that needed nuanced wisdom and prayer. But the teen years for one of my kids was a curve ball I didn’t see coming, and when it hit, it was incredibly scary and painful. It affected the whole family, and as a mother I felt a lot of responsibility for what was happening. Home was supposed to be a sa...

The Comparison Trap

  If you’re anything like me, the tendency to compare your children to others is a trap hard to avoid; whether it be a comparison with siblings, of other children their age, or of yourself at the same age.   With every stage of childhood development, there is the temptation to look sideways at what others are doing to validate and confirm that you as a parent are doing a good job and that your child is as well. While there are times when looking outward is helpful in assessing what is a good benchmark or goal to work towards, comparison can become a snare in loving your children for who they are. Instead, we begin to wish they were different; more like their peers; more like yourself. From the moment of birth, the comparison game begins. “My baby sleeps through the night.” “My child didn’t say a word until he was 2!” “My kid starting reading at 5 years.” Eating, sleeping, walking, talking…there are milestones at every age. For some reason, parents put their children into an ...