~can't make them happy~

I can't make my kids happy.

Let me say that again.

I....nor you.... can make your kids happy.

I could when they were 3.

Then, all they wanted was me, some bubbles, a trip to the park, and a popsicle.

Now, though.

Dude.

I'm at the very beginning of that next phase.

It's the one you hear about but can't possibly prepare for.

It's complex and emotional.

It's a little scary because......
IT'S TOTALLY OUT OF MY CONTROL.

You see, these same sweet kids who used to be okay just because you told them it was in fact, okay,
now are not so gullible or simplistic.

They no longer take your word for it that there is no boogy man.

Because I can't lie to them and tell them, nothing bad will happen, tornado sirens bring anxiety that I can only partially relieve.

They now have real choices that bring real consequences.

They now know what "popular" is and they know when they don't qualify.

They know when they are left out of something.

They don't really want to do the things I, as a parent, have told them they must do. It's especially hard to pass your friends all on bikes, cruising the neighborhood, while you are being held prisoner in your Mom's suburban, on your way to the death sentence of cutting the grass. All while, these same friends didn't even ask you to come cruising with them. Double whammy.


Here's the deal.

Suffering and difficulty are facts of life.

Pain is a guarantee.

It's just a matter of in what form and how severe you get it.

For a momma, is there anything worse than seeing your kids unhappy  in whatever way, big or small?

Whether your child or children......
have a chronic illness,
have a terminal illness,
have a disability,
are in a terrible accident,
rebel,
get pregnant before they should,
smoke whatever kids smoke now,
sneak out at night,
feel rejected,
embarrass you,
make bad grades,
don't "fit in",
aren't athletic enough,
don't have enough friends,
can't find a job,
are not the teacher's pet,
or fill in your blank.......

It simply won't always be pretty.

I CAN'T make them turn out right.
I CAN show them the right path.
I CAN teach them that they'll never find happiness as long as they are looking for things or people to bring it.
I CAN tell them where their value comes from.
I CAN'T force them to accept truth.
I CAN pray for them.
I CAN love them through everything.
And I can most definitely rest in the knowledge that the God I serve is faithful to complete the good work He begins.
I can know beyond a shadow of a doubt that though I won't understand everything that happens, I trust His will and purposes.....even when I don't like my circumstances.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our day......in pictures.
It was a beautiful one.

~me and him~

This is a coconut.

 She fell in.

...and was NOT happy about it.

 ...until we told her it was like going swimming.

We left the woods and went to the more refined.....

here's to life.
the good and the bad.
the easy and the hard.
let's value life because it's life.
and because His ways are not our ways.

~stacey