refined

My daughter, she's nearly 11 years old. I've been parenting her for almost 11 years. I've got a son who is almost 8 years old. Combined total of nearly 19 years of parenting under my belt. I should feel pretty good about that, quite confident, right?

But I still feel like I've only got about 10% of this parenting thing figured out.

Augh!! The longer I parent, the more I realize that I have so much to learn. Sometimes I wish I had triple majored in education, psychology, and sociology so maybe, just maybe I'd have an inkling as to what parenting would entail. Honestly, the What To Expect When You're Expecting books should be 10x longer and go all the way through your child's college years...at least!

I definitely do not have this all figured out, but what I have realized is that I am growing and learning throughout all this. This parenting "job" isn't given to us just so we can grow children. It's given to us so that we, ourselves, can grow as people because of the children God gives us to parent.

Oh, that God of ours, He's a smart one. "What characteristics to I want to see grow in Kathy? Maybe a little patience, long-suffering, even. Self-control, wisdom, patience (oh, already said that one...),understanding, thoughtfulness, strength...yes, I have just the child for her!" 

Tonight I'm grateful for that. Exhausted and mentally drained, but grateful. God is developing great things in our kids, but He's also developing great things in each of us. 

Hang in there, folks: these kids are refining us. And that is a privilege.

KC