Grasp Five Minute Friday

It wasn’t pretty, not even a little bit.  The morning had been filled with nagging and whining and even some tears … and that was just me.   My getting-so-close-to-thirteen-year-old had slammed doors and smarted off and was, at that very moment, shooting me a look that I was pretty sure indicated she’d rather be anywhere than near me.   If I’m totally honest, I felt the same way about her.

This parenting gig:  it’s way hard!

I got home from dropping her off at the middle school and started editing my book.  You know, the one about parenting.  The irony didn’t escape me.  As I read about overflowing love and patience—which is really about suffering long with people which left me all torn up—I wondered if she’d ever grasp how much I love her.

“Not until she has a child of her own,” my own mother’s voice echoed through my head.

I picked her up and we avoided discussing the morning’s fiasco.  Focusing instead on tests and dance classes and the nearness of Homecoming.

I looked at her and prayed, “Please, Lord, let me grasp the wonder of being her mom.  Don’t let me miss the beauty because of the tantrums—hers or mine.”

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I’m joining the honest and brave writers who gather together every Friday at Lisa-Jo’s for Five Minute Friday.  We don’t edit or format.  We just pour out the words, raw and pure.   This week’s prompt is “Grasp.”

The book on parenting I mentioned in the post, it’s releasing in 10 days!  Join me for the Parenting from the Overflow journey.  Check out the Facebook page and the Pinterest board for quotes and more information.  The book will be available October 8 … it’s sort of like a lot of Five Minute Friday—raw and honest but also deeply encouraging as I invite you to live in the truth that we parent best when we remember we are children our heavenly Father first.