Musings of a Mom

As a mom of an almost five-year-old and a two-year-old, I spend a lot of time and energy making sure my boys have everything they need. I think constantly about their futures—planning, preparing, doing whatever I can to help them thrive. I never want them to feel embarrassed, scared, or in need.

Our oldest is headed to a new school in the fall, and my husband and I recently talked about how to protect him from being made fun of. He’s so much like us, and we can already imagine the teasing he might face. No parent wants their child to be left out or bullied.

But as we talked through every scenario, I remembered something:
Every hardship I’ve faced has produced something valuable in me.

When I changed schools in third grade, I learned how it felt to have no one to sit with at lunch or play with on the playground. That experience made me more aware of people who are new or feeling alone.

When a boy broke my new glasses and we couldn’t afford a replacement I liked, I wore the discounted pair for two years. I learned to value what I had—and to treat other people’s things with care.

Pain produces character. And more than anything, I want my boys to have the character of Christ. A thriving Christian life isn’t born from comfort alone.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
—Romans 5:3–5 (ESV)

Whatever lies ahead for my boys, I trust that the Lord can transform their suffering into endurance, character, and lasting hope.

There will be hard days. But as Jesus reminds us:

“Take heart; I have overcome the world.”
—John 16:33

And that changes everything.