Possibly Impossible Mountains

Last Saturday was my husbands birthday. Celebrating during shelter-in-place is much different than we are accustomed to, so we decided to take a family walk. We started on our typical path, but decided to take a few less turns along the way. About 2 miles in, we realized the new path would not lead us to our normal route. It was clear that we entered into unchartered territory. While this is not outside of the norm, we ended up going downhill for a mile, realizing at some point we would have to go back up.

Laughter, conversation, and exploration quickly turned into silence when facing that hill. The nice breeze suddenly came to a halt as we started going up. We all had our own approach tackling this one mile journey…

My daughter hates hills, so her resolve was to run in order to end the agony.

My son held onto my husband’s arm as long as he could before being shaken off.

My husband kept his normal pace while gliding uphill. He spent a good portion of his walk convincing Christian that he could walk alone.

I, on the other hand, slowly paced up the hill. Initially, I felt bad that my husband kept stopping to check on me, but then I realized something…it doesn’t matter how I approach this walk, what really matters is that I complete the task in front of me. It does not matter how fast, how slow, or how we monitor our pace. What matters is that we face the unknowns thrown in front of us like champs, completing the task.

While I did not expect to climb a one mile hill in skinny jeans and Birkenstocks™, I also did not have the expectation to quit on myself and my family when taking this journey.

I started thinking of you World Changers. Parenting is an uphill battle. Sometimes there are gentle slopes, tall mountains, and rough terrain. No matter what is thrown in our face, it is our responsibility to decide the best method of approach for the most optimal results. We sometimes fear that if we are not moving at 100 mph than we are not making progress. This is simply not true. No matter how fast, or how slow we go, we will all eventually get to the end as long as we keep trying.

Isn’t that encouraging? To meet the end goal, you simply have to move at your own pace.

For instance, if you are teaching your sugar how to follow directions, I don’t care if it takes 1000 times before your sugar follows through, keep climbing.

If you are working on reading a story from cover-to-cover and your sugar never seems to make it through, it does not matter, keep climbing.

If your sugar is convinced they are not good at a subject, keep validating them with reminders that they can tackle anything they put their mind and heart into, keep climbing.

If you are your spouse can’t seem to get eye-to-eye on what parenting, discipline, and life as a family looks like, I don’t care how many talks you have, keep climbing.

The minute you stop climbing is the very minute you give up. And I don’t personally care how many times you need to go back to start before you end up at finish, just never give up. Believe in yourself, and believe that the obstacles placed in front of you are meant to grow you for the next journey ahead.

Also, believe that your attitude and disposition when approaching new obstacles shapes how your sugar will tackle the journey ahead of them. That liberating, right?

Life will happen (as it happens to us all) but you have the ultimate control to decide how you will respond (I smiled up the hill with my hand on my hip, WINDED).

So World Changer, be encouraged! Be excited! Know that whatever you put your mind to, it can be achieved. In advance, I am proud of you. I am always cheerleading for you and with you.

Until the next time, Take Care, C.