Lessons From My Girls - Part 1
Lesson From My Girls – Brooke
Whenever you are a parent, it seems like you are constantly on the battlefield of raising kids.
Setting a bed time and sticking to it. “No, we don’t have dessert every night.”
"You need to put your phone with mine to charge at night.” “I don’t care if so and so is doing it, you aren’t.”
“Curfew is set.” - And so on and so on and so on.
We, the parents, are constantly on the field and in the ranks teaching our children all the things that we feel they might need to become an honest, productive, God loving citizen.
Yet what I never fully grasped until now, now that I am looking at the other end of that parenting spectrum, is how very much I would learn from my children.
In many, many ways, our girls have been two of the greatest teachers to me. I thought I was doing all the teaching along the way, but, in reality, they were the influential teachers and me, just a student learning so much.
There is so much to share that I could start another blog, but for now, I share these three.
A Resolute Heart is a Necessary Thing
No one's life is without trials. No one's. And, so it is with Brooke. Her trials have brought great, great pain to her and, honestly, to our family as well. Brooke has walked some tough roads. I know many of you have. Many of you are right now.
On her tough roads, as a Mom, all I wanted to do was fix it. On her tough roads, there were days that I could only smile enough to get her out the door and then shut the door and just grieve.
But, as I walked along these tough roads with her, she taught me something amazing. To live this life to the fullest, to live this grace filled life that God has given us, you must have a Resolute Heart.
What on earth does that mean? Well, Oxford Dictionary says this:
n the tough places of Brooke’s life, many that came to her very unfairly and unexpectedly, she chose to have a Resolute Heart. She didn’t WANT to; she CHOSE to.
She chose to believe that God is at work always and he is always working for her good. He is always working for our good. I know it was hard for Brooke to do this when she just didn't understand, but she chose to become determined and unwavering.
Her choice to have a Resolute Heart reminds me that we can do tough things.
2. A Determined Spirit Takes You Places
Brooke will tell you that she never really liked school. She loved her teachers. She loved the people. She could completely knock the work out of the park, but she didn’t really like school.
So, when she went off to college at West Virginia University, she decided in her mind that she would graduate early. And she did! She was determined. She worked extra hard. She worked every day and every weekend doing something for school for 3 years, including some summers.
In the end, she did finish up early and, when she looked back, she was both proud and sad. Proud because she set her mind to accomplishing the task and did it. And then sad because it all went way too fast and she would miss the fun she had in the midst of it.
But, she knew a new chapter was unfolding and with that Determined Spirit, Brooke set out once again. She moved to a new area, knowing only one person, and started her first "real" job. This was now the first “real” time being a “real” adult. Own apartment. Own grocery shopping. Own lots of things.
I remember it -- it’s pretty darn tough.
And for Brooke, it’s been hard and it’s been great. She’s doing it and doing it well, and even growing along the way. A Determined Spirit will do that for you.
Thank you, Brooke, for the reminder that we can do hard things and with God all things are possible.
3. Faith is Not Just the ONLY Thing We Have – Faith is the BEST Thing We Have
In the Bible, Jesus talks about having faith like a mustard seed and we can move mountains. I’ve heard that my entire life; but it is in Brooke’s life that it has truly been shown to me.
In a recent LTCL post called, Living a Passion Filled Life, I shared a little about how it’s so easy to chase your passions or have faith when life is going great and everything is turning up rosy. But what about when life gets hard or those passions fade for a bit?
Well, the other night I had a great conversation with Brooke. We talked a lot about passion and faith. She shared with me how it’s sometimes hard to remain focused and passionate about many things: God, healthy eating, healthy living, and such.
I told her that I often feel the same way. It’s so easy to do those things when, well it’s easy to do those things. And then, there it was. Brooke said the most interesting thing.
She told me that she has realized that even when your passion has faded for a bit, it’s your faith that keeps you looking onward and upward. It’s your faith that gets you back on track and fully claiming victory with Jesus.
Pause. Yes. Yes, it is. Faith is what keeps us on track and able to move mountains.
Wow! How and when did she become so wise?
Brooke has chosen to have faith. Her choice to have faith is incredible. Her choice to have faith is critical, life changing.
Her choice to have faith reminds me that it can be very hard to have faith when you don’t know the end of the story. But, never forget! God knows your story. God is the one creating a story that will work all things for our good. For our good. We just need to get out of our own way and have enough faith to let God work.
So to you, Brooke, thank you. Your hurts, your struggles, your victories, and your life have taught this momma so very much. To you, I am forever thankful that you have shown me:
A Resolute Heart is what God has called you to have and you have submitted to the call.
A Determined Spirit has taken you to new places and God has been right there to meet you every time, in every place, and he always will.
Your Faith is moving mountains, even when you don’t quite see them moving yet.
So when life is tough, try using these LIFE SKILLS or, better yet, LIFE BLESSINGS that Brooke has taught me:
And don’t forget who is victorious in this life. You are. Brooke is. God is.
Have a blessed day!
XO Nikki
#chappylife
