When my youngest son reached the toddler age, I realized we were dealing with a whole new set of challenges. He was headstrong and fearless, and although he hadn’t reached the age of “why” yet, he brought out behavior in my firstborn that I’d never seen before.
My normally gentle, calm-spirited kid became aggressive and mischievous.
As I watched other calm, well-mannered children at story time, I’d try to keep mine seated and swat their hands when they moved the felt characters on the storyboard.
One day when I was feeling particularly inadequate we were shopping for Christmas decorations. It also happened to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year: Black Friday. My husband and I explained how the stores might be crazy because people were shopping for gifts and told the boys to stay close.
Then, out of the blue, my husband asked our oldest if he thought gifts were the meaning of Christmas.
“No, Christmas is about celebrating Jesus’ birthday,” he said without hesitation.
Now, I realize what you might be thinking. You may think he was reciting what he’d heard or saying what he thought we wanted to hear. I know because I had the same doubts.
But what I’ve realized in this journey called motherhood is in the middle the doubt, the frustration the fear of the unknown, one of the best things we can do for our kids is to show up.
Instead of going on autopilot or avoiding the hard conversation, I can be present. Instead of giving in to make life easier, I can stand firm in the decisions my husband and I make together.
And when we do these things, I can listen to my son tell us the true meaning of Christmas and know he’s speaking from the heart. I can have confidence that the Spirit of the living God is working in him and through me to form the man he will one day become.
Sometimes all it takes is showing up to show my kids what matters most.
And despite all my mistakes and wondering if we’re doing it all right, they surprise me when I least expect it
If you need to shift your focus from disappointment and worry and see what God is already doing in your life, I encourage you to pick of a copy of my book, Shift: Changing Our Focus to See the Presence of God. I talk more about God’s promises surpassing our dreams, and how we can always trust him with the dreams we hold in our hearts. Many people have sent me messages saying it is a timely book for this season. This encourages my heart so much. I pray that God continues to use it to touch lives. Purchase here.
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Abby McDonald.
Featured Image by Jason Goh from Pixabay
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