"It's Just a Stage"

Terry Bear is going through a pity stage. Recently he walked into the bathroom as I was showering, contriving a “cry” over a “hurt toe.”

<dramatically> “Mah toe, mommy! It huuurts.”

He wanted me to say “Oh no!” and offer to kiss it. And I did (yes, while trying not to bust my behind in the shower), but I hesitated, wanting to find the balance between comforting him, while encouraging him to be honest and strong. As he waddled out of the room and reactivated the theatrics for his dad, I began to think, “What if he grows up thinking he can whine to get attention? Or has a victim-mentality? What if by playing this game with him, it’ll cause him to ultimately end up homeless begging on the streets?!” This is where my mommy-mind can go in a matter of seconds. A friend of mine recently told me how her thoughts went down a similar path when her daughter innocently questioned the existence of God. She began to freak out thinking of what to do or say, and her husband reeled her back in, reminding her that their kid is 5, ha! Terry is 2. And it’s just a stage.

…there are seasons to life.

A stage, a phase, a season… the same goes for our very real, adult life experiences. If there is one consistent lesson I’ve learned over the last decade, it’s that there are seasons to life. You lose a best friend. You get fired. You have a medical challenge. The love of your life breaks up with you. Yes, it’s frustrating or heartbreaking, but it is just a season. It doesn’t have to mean doom and gloom for the rest of your life. There is a freedom in knowing this tough time won’t last forever, and most of the time you will look back and be grateful for what now feels like disaster. You’ll be stronger, sharper; you won’t make the same mistakes again. You’ll have better discernment when it comes to selecting opportunities. All because of what you’re going through now. So choose to write down something you’re grateful for every single day. Acknowledge the pain, but commit to putting one foot in front of the other and believing for a brighter day tomorrow. Do what you can with what you have so that the pain, the hurt, the frustration isn’t wasted. There’s purpose even in this, even now. You’ll look back and say, “Man, I did that. Wow, I made it through.” And you’ll be so dang proud of yourself. So do not give up.

“O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires. I will make your battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones.“ Isaiah 54:11-12