There are so many things in life that I never wished for. Isn’t that true of all of us? I mean, every single one of us has to walk down paths we probably wouldn’t have chosen for ourselves. Paths that are hard, or crooked, or just not what we dreamed. I used to despise those paths…those seasons, but in my older age, I’m learning that the struggle is part of my story and I need to embrace it and share it.
The Struggle is Part of My Story
I never planned on having six kids. As a young woman, I planned for two. Now here I am with three biological children of my own and three stepchildren that I consider my own. It isn’t always easy…in fact, it’s really, really hard most of the time.
It’s hard on a marriage when it seems like all your time is spent discussing your children and you struggle to find time for each other.
It’s hard on a marriage when baggage from the past rears it’s ugly head and you have to co-parent with another who doesn’t see eye to eye with you or even like you.
It’s hard when your children act out from places of trauma – when they take things out on you because you’re the only safe place in their lives.
It’s hard to watch your children make choices that you can’t control or save them from.
It’s hard when your first child grows up, marries and starts gifting you grandchildren, but lives two states away.
Yep, it’s hard. It’s a struggle, but it’s through the struggle that I have learned more about myself and became a stronger person. It’s through the struggle that I have learned to sacrifice, and love, and find solutions and see victory.
Philippians 1:29 tells me that I have been “called to believe and to suffer for His [Christ’s] sake.” Romans 8:28 says “But God works all things for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.”
As a child of God, I can rest in knowing that every circumstance He allows me to face, including the suffering, will serve a purpose in His overall plan. He will work every struggle for my good – which is being conformed to the image of Christ. Nothing is wasted. It’s the struggle that makes the story worth telling. And it’s the struggle God uses to speak comfort and encouragement into the lives of others.
