I’ll start this encouragement piece with a bit of sobering information:
The “new normal” that we’ve been adapting to over the course of the year will continue on into 2021.”
This is so important to realize because so many people (parents!) are over-the-moon excited for the new year, and I hope we all take the time to realize what the start of the new year really means. There are pleeeeenty of reasons to be over-the-moon excited right now, but none of them have anything to do with returning to our “old normal.” Rather, the excitement is found in two things:
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Adaptation leading to growth.
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God’s unchanging character.
The challenge of adapting to our new and ever-changing circumstances can be seen as a roadblock or an opportunity. It will be a challenge either way, but we get to choose how we respond to it. Will you back down from the challenge that blocks your old plans? Or will you embrace the challenge as a new opportunity to explore new plans?
God’s unchanging character is our rock, and is the only rock worth building on. My verse of the week right now is 1 Samuel 2:2, in which Hannah prays after dedicating hey baby boy Samuel to the Lord. “There is no one holy like the Lord; there is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” I’ve been working on leaning more and more heavily on this promise as the year goes on, and it’s been a great reminder that my own plans for my own little world are so fleeting and short-sighted compared to God’s plans – and God Himself.
As we enter into the final month of the year, we parents ought to rally up together to finish 2020 strong. Whether your kids are itty bitty infants or much older than I am, we all share the same joy and responsibility to shepherd our children well. As we lead them forward and upward, we’ll no doubt encounter a roller coaster of emotions, circumstances, challenges, pleasures, and opportunities that we could have never predicted or planned ourselves. This is what we all signed up for when we became parents, and navigating this together as spouses and friends is an amazing adventure.
I don’t know what areas of your life are challenging at this point in time, but I would encourage you – as your friend and Coach – to embrace God as your Rock. Not just now, and not just in the difficult times, but all the time and in everything. It may take weeks or months or years or an entire lifetime, but beginning/continuing the process of trusting God with your life is a journey worth embarking on. As parents, you never have to feel alone or under-qualified or unprepared. You are in great hands and in good company!