Bumpy stages...

I am going through a Bible study with some friends called Parenting with Wisdom by Debi Pryde. It was written by one of my friend's mom. We are going through it slowly, taking time to digest it. I love it.

We are reading through the chapters about "Bumpy Stages". It has been sweet to read through the sections on babies and realize I lived through that and likely won't need that information personally anymore, but it will be something I can encourage another mom with who is in the midst.

Lately, if I am honest with myself, I will admit that I have been struggling to be a joyful mom. Some days feel like a drudgery. Everything is a choice. Then I thought of the bumpy stages chapter. Then I realized, we are hitting some bumps. And then it occurred to me that in the span of our six children, we are experiencing the bumpy part of 4 different stages!

Am I complaining, no. I am however, reminded to do what the Israelites forgot to do when they hit a "bumpy stage" (a.k.a. the desert), they forgot to recount the testimonies of the Lord to themselves and their children. So, now, instead of wondering when we will get over these current bumps and trying not to think about a different bump being just around the corner, I am reminding myself of God's faithfulness to bring us over the bumps of different stages of the past, and to look at my children and see how they have all grown in the grace of the Lord.

Bumpy stages are hard. I won't make believe that they aren't. But I can choose to rest in and seek the Lord through them, instead of striving in my own strength and knowledge to get through. And it helps to remember that after every bump, there is a valley. I can see change in my kids. I can see change in me. I will praise God for the bumps, I will recount His faithfulness.