I Can Do Hard Things

     One of the hardest things about being a parent is when your children make choices that aren't good for them. You know them and can see how wrong decisions are going to affect their lives, but they don't listen. They have to learn for themselves and some of them have to learn the hard way.
     One of my favorite quotes lately is, "A wise man learns from his mistakes. A wiser man learns from others mistakes." Such wisdom in so few words.
     Parenthood is a never ending job. When your kids are young you think as soon as they are out of high school, I'll be done, or as soon as they are married, I can relax. Not so. The problems just get more serious and with spouses and grandkids you have more people to worry about. It never gets easier.
     Once you have a child, it's not about you any more. Your whole life is about helping those you love be the people you know they can be.
     I have a much larger family than most so the challenges are multiplied. Rarely do we get any down time when there isn't some kind of crisis happening. Would I go back and change things if I could? No. My children have taught me as much as I have taught them. They have made me a better person. They have made me a stronger person and they have taught me that you can survive the most excruciating pain imaginable and become stronger for it. Like the refiners fire, we are tempered by our trials to be the best we can be.
     My faith is strong and so I say, I accept this challenge and I will do my best to meet it and grow from it.