It is difficult to overestimate the challenge of parenting a spirited child.
They are relentless.
They are persistent.
They are not easily satisfied.
They will not believe it just because you said it.
The evidence does not apply to them.
The “why” is never appeased.
It has been easy to see the negatives in my child. It’s been easy to get angry, frustrated, and annoyed. The exhaustion is real. The tears are real. It is only mildly helpful in the daily mire to recall that these same lamented qualities will be desired attributes by future employers.
But I have been reminded too that there are good things that come out of hard things. Lessons I can learn no other way.
I am reminded of my need for
Control
Perfection
Order…
And my lack of
Humility
Patience
Selflessness.
A recognition of my weakness is a trigger to seek grace and forgiveness, and a prompt to draw upon the Spirit of Christ daily, hourly, and even minute by minute.
Parenting my child with skill and love is hard. There is no magic button or formula – every day can feel like a desperate attempt to strike a moving target and more often than not, I miss the mark.
But courage, dear heart.
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.”
― Mary Anne Radmacher
Wind and Bone 