Again
Someone spilled their juice at breakfast. Again. And it’s no use crying over spilt milk or juice, but it’s the fact that it’s spilt over and again that tries one’s patience.
Too often I react to my children’s little spills and mistakes with less patience than they show towards me.
And it’s in the midst of my frustration and failure that I remember: we might be “grown up” when we have children, but they grow us up again as we raise them.
The challenge is to accept that reality and embrace the opportunity for growth. Again and again.
“I have a confession to make. I mistakenly thought that God gave Barbara and me six children so that we could raise them. I think He gave six children, at least to me, so He could finish the process of helping me grow up. Nothing has taught me more about self-sacrifice than loving and leading my children.”
–Dennis Rainey in a FamilyLife Today broadcast
{Five-Minute Friday: Again}
Gretchen,
I had to smile when I started reading this post. Whenever my folks would go out to dinner by themselves, which was a very rare occasion, one of them would say, “OK! Somebody, please spill your water so we can eat!” My poor folks got so accustomed to us kids spilling our water/milk/or juice that the meal wasn’t complete if we weren’t there to do it. We never had juice too often, it was mostly water that we had with meals or sometimes milk. I was always spilling something! My thing was hot chocolate that I was spilling out in public.
Thanks for sharing!
Blessings!
Bethany
Love this quote Gretchen. Truly a God-send tonight. Thank you. I have 6 children and I KNOW I learn more from them than they do from me. God is so good… and so *patient* to entrust us with these little ones. Bless you.
Enjoyed your post.
Mmmm, sooo true!
great observation…and great quote gretchen. fun to actually be a neighbor to someone i’ve met in person:) hope you aren’t absolutely freezing to death up there:)
Oh no, it’s a warm 30 degrees today! We were just commenting on how it hasn’t even been below 0 yet this winter. Hanging out around 10 at night is our norm. 🙂
Thanks for saying hi, Martha! Popping on over to read your post as soon as I finish what I’m supposed to be doing. 😉