My Readers Make Me Cry (A Heart-felt Thanks)

Really, you all. You make me cry. In a very good way. I cannot tell you how much I have appreciated the flood of support and encouragement I’ve seen since I shared on my blog about our son’s epilepsy and the many struggles that result.

You have posted encouragement on social media, sent amazing emails through our website, and written such helpful words of care and comfort in the comments on the blog. All of this has reduced me to tears many times, affirming that “God’s got this” in so many, many ways. Thanks for sharing your stories with me.

I know that many of you have situations that seem dark in your lives as well. As I said, I know many, many families face far greater burdens. I thought you might get encouragement from what I’ve heard from others, too! Check out, for example, the stories in the comments at the bottom of the blog, like that from “Karen.”  Stories of miraculous healing. Of miraculous provision. Of God taking desperately difficult events that happen in seeming darkness and turning them to things of light and beauty over time.

I needed to hear all of that. Maybe you, do, too.

I also needed the reminder I saw in this excellent article, “The Struggles and Resilience of Even the Superhuman”

Look at this excerpt, about the author’s thoughts as she watched the Olympics:

As I watched, it got me thinking about what got these athletes here … They definitely seem superhuman….But as I heard their stories of struggle along with the glory, a great opportunity today arose for me to talk to my kids about how awesome their struggles and failures could be…

From the Syrian refugee that further developed her life skills by literally swimming for her life as her boat capsized in the Aegean Sea fleeing her war torn country, to Simone Biles coming out of the foster care system after being placed there with her sister by an mother addicted to drugs and alcohol, there is a sense of what real human capital means.

Even our most decorated Michael Phelps, had a dark period that included suicidal thoughts and excessive drinking to numb his demons….

They all have incredible stories that exemplify the one character trait that is the most important for our kids to know and cultivate.

Resilience.

The ability to get up just like Mo Farah did last night when he tumbled in the 10,000m run. (Not only did he get up, he came from behind to win against two of the fastest men in the world.)…

These skills cannot be taught without opportunities to fail, to fall down, and to have questions that literally have no answers. If we shield kids from making fantastically horrible mistakes under our roofs, including our schools, then we have stopped resiliency training dead in its tracks.

Resilience “cannot be taught without opportunities to fail, to fall down, and to have questions that literally have no answers.  If we shield kids from [that] then we have stopped resiliency training.”

There’s such a temptation for me to shield my son from everything. As I said in the blog, I would do anything to take his struggles on myself and shield him from the pain he goes through.

But I can’t. And I shouldn’t. God knows best. I want a resilient son. And I know God will take this tough time and turn it into something beautiful.