There he
was. On his stomach. Grunting and groaning, whining and fussing. His head
bobbed up and down. His arms and legs whipped all around. He stretched and
strained, but he could not move across the floor.
We bought a
camcorder the summer our first child was born. Over nine years, we accumulated
30 hours of our life on tape. Not wanting to lose those memories, I recently
converted the 15 8mm tapes to digital. Of course I had to start watching the
recordings to make sure they were actually converted. 😉 Oh the hours of our adorable baby on those
first few tapes! (Three for just his first five months!)
In that
first year of our oldest son’s life, I watched as he strained to control his
arms and hands, learned to swallow cereal, struggled to roll over, and figured
out how to comfort himself. It took him more than one or two minutes, and more
than one or two times, before he mastered each of these skills. To be honest,
there were parts of the video where I was telling my younger self to put down
the camera and pick him up! But it was in those struggles where his learning
occurred.
Isn’t that
life? We struggle with problems, obstacles, and pain in our lives. We complain when
life gets difficult, forgetting that there is a lesson in each of those
situations. The older I get, the more I understand how the struggles in my life
have helped me to grow. I’m not saying I liked the struggles, but I am pretty
proud to have successfully come out on the other side a wiser, patient, and
more empathetic person.
Many of the
lessons in my life have taken more than one or two minutes, and more than one
or two struggles, to learn. Holding my tongue, being patient with others, and understanding
that I’m not in control have taken many years to acquire (at times I still have to work on them). Through these life lessons, I’ve also grown in my relationship with
God. My faith has become stronger as I’ve learned to trust Him when life is
hard. Learning to trust God was a lesson in itself.
Our sons no
longer have the struggles they did as infants, but they will continue to have
struggles. Adult problems. Financial. Physical. Mental. Relational. Career. I
hope they reach out to us when they are hurting. I want them to look for the
lesson in each hardship. And I pray that they seek God to walk with them through difficult
times.
