Sometimes my children are my greatest teachers.

Sometimes my children are my greatest teachers.

My 11yo daughter had two soccer games yesterday and by the time we got home, I was spent. I had no patience getting my younger two girls to bed and when I finally sat down, I was annoyed that my 11yo wanted me to snuggle with her before bed.

I felt guilty for feeling this way, but it was a long day. After the 4th time she asked me, I caved and climbed into bed with her thinking I was probably just going to fall asleep.

As we lay there, I asked her about her soccer games. I asked her what was going on that made her not fully show up in the games.

I felt her wince at the question.

So I asked again, “What are you afraid of during your games?”

Silence.

I asked again.

She finally responded, “I’m afraid of getting hurt.”

Her response hit me like a Mac truck. See our children mirror our energies and when she said this, I knew there were areas in my life in which I was not fully showing up. I thought, okay God, I hear you.

I said to her, “Have I been hurt?”

Yes.

Am I okay?

Yes.

So sometimes, you will get hurt, but you’ll always be okay. Just because I fell off my bike a couple weeks ago, does that mean I should never ride my bike again?

No.

Exactly. It’s okay to be scared, but God is always there to support you. He’ll always have your back.

She snuggled in and said, “I love you mom.”

As I left her room, I reminded her that God is love, not fear and He will always be there for you, especially if we get hurt, but we can’t live our life afraid all the time.