Parenting… a growing up opportunity

The year 2023 was a doozy for us.

We had surgeries (Ben’s Achilles repair).

We had a really serious (and still ongoing/unknown) medical health scare for one of our kiddos.

And we welcomed a newborn to boot!

And we maintain that all trials and circumstances and even suffering have a really really important place in God’s purpose for growing us up as spiritually mature mothers and fathers.

But sometimes what we perceive to be a “full frontal spiritual attack*” is really just a “growing up opportunity*” (*language borrowed from Pete Scazzero, namely his podcast “being transformed through the fires of spiritual warfare”)

Take example for my (Ben’s) continued recovery journey from Achilles repair.

As soon as I got the green light for working out again, I went for it, all out, jumping on the peloton and crushing it for about 3 days in a row.

I woke up 3 days later and whoopsies, my low back was entirely thrown out.

Four weeks later, I felt good enough to give it another shot. But I’m a lifelong learner-especially learning from my mistakes!-so peloton is OUT!

I fall back on an old tried and true workout of 3 simple body weight movements: pull-ups, pushups and air squats. No weights, no finicky machines, just good ‘ol fashioned body weight.

Few days later I’m helping my mom move my grandma out of her apartment, I’m lifting a very small piece of furniture and oops, there goes my mid back. Another tear. Another 4-week recovery to feel normal again.

A few questions:

What is my body saying to me?
How is God coming to me through these repeat injuries?
Is this a spiritual attack or a growing up opportunity?

I’m happy to say that after spending the last 2 months wallowing in despair and self-pity, I have arrived at two major conclusions:

1, its a growing up opportunity and;

2, I am totally up for the challenge… for what you might ask?

Now that’s the million dollar question.

I’m up for the challenge to radically change my health and fitness goals and for the entire year I’m going to work out extremely sparingly (in a biking, running, lifting sense) and spend the majority of healthy days just stretching.

Literally… just STRETCHING.

Now on the one hand this may seem so trivial or even superficial to you (I know I feel that way!), but for me it has been an all-encompassing identity-emotion-whole life adjustment.

The question is: what’s that for you?

For most of us subscribed to this channel it’s the growing up opportunity of parenting.

It’s pretty amazing the number of people we speak with who have come to believe that maybe parenting is a curse. Talk about “spiritual warfare” language!

And we sympathize! Many times the feeling is like ‘why is this happening to me?!’ But like an old mentor used to say, the better translation would be ‘why is this happening for me?’

And that is the essence behind the following verse

“Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord.” - Psalms‬ ‭127‬:‭3‬ ‭CEV‬‬

When we realize that children are not just a way to further our family line, not just a way to complete our identity and our needs, not just a fulfillment of other unmet desires, we will be on our way to what the Bible calls “perfect.”