This too shall pass.

II Timothy 3:16-17, "All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." I am the mother of two teenage daughters. They are honestly a couple of great girls. There are times, that I can look at them and think that I am living with two cute little kittens, loving, sweet, and cuddly. But then there are times, that I am living with two hungry piranas, and I am their bait! I have learned that there are days that I can truly appreciate motherhood and all that it brings, the joys, the heartache, the laughter, the challenge, and the love. Then there are those days, that I truly begin to realize...why some animals eat their young! (I'm joking!) It is a roller coaster ride at times, with twists and turns, that sometime take your breath away. My oldest daughter said something to me yesterday that stopped me in my tracks. She said, "Mom...I'm not human. I'm a teenager!" Aahaa! I knew it! It all makes sense to me now! They are aliens! No wonder they act the way they do. No wonder they drive me crazy sometimes. I believe that they somehow, stole the manual from their grand-parents, and know exactly where all of my buttons are...and they have learned how to push each and every one of them, at the right exact moment. Or, is it simply...my will against theirs. My oldest is now seventeen and yearning to find her own place in this world. It feels as though, we are playing tug-of-war with her independence, and neither of us want to end up face down in the mud. It is a battle of the wills. A battle of letting go..by one or both of us. My youngest daughter just turned thirteen, and she is trying to discover who she is as an individual. She is growing, maturing, and developing into a young lady. She's just doing it very loudly. She spends most of her time, crying or yelling at someone. Mad at the world it seems. Or, is it that her real identity is screaming to come out of her...and she isn't quite ready to let it. I'm not sure if I'm ready either. And so, another battle begins. The battle to allow her to grow up. (never easy on the heart..but very doable) I was at the store the other day with the two of them, having a day of shopping. My oldest and I were at the register arguing over a hairband...yes a hairband. We went back and forth, and back and forth, about her needing it and I not wanting to buy it. (Teenagers use the word "need" way too freely) I began to grit my teeth in anger. I resisted the nagging urge to choke her, right in front of the clerk, and bought the hairband. She walked away angrily, as I continued to stand at the register, and pay for the hairband. The clerk leaned over to me, smiled and whispered, "This too shall pass." This too shall pass? At times, it seems as though, I am running out of "passes". When I think we have just jumped one more hurdle, without anyone getting scarred up knees, there is another one waiting for us to jump. Don't get me wrong, motherhood has proven to be one of my greatest joys, filling me up in ways, that only make my heart feel as though, it may burst at the seams with happiness. I am blessed to say my girls have not dealt with too many life changing tragedies. I believe, that is the result of strict prayer. I pray, and pray, and pray. And when I think I am done praying...I pray some more! I think that when you give birth to your child in the hospital, and are ready to leave, to take your baby home, they should hand you three very important things; 1. your baby, 2. a bible! 3. a book on how to pray! (Oh wait..that is the Bible.) If I had to give one thing that has allowed me to "survive" my ever growing kids, it would be "prayer". Prayer is my most important survival skill at this point. It is the one thing, that no one can tell, me does not work. I have seen the results of prayer and believe in it, with every fiber of my being. It is real...it works! I never allow myself, to cease in my prayer for guidance and direction, on how to deal with anything, that comes my way in parenting them. It is a day to day learning process, one that I am not sure, can ever be perfected. As I have said in another blog, it is a process of development. One, that is learned each and every day. It seems like only yesterday, that I was in charge of parenting an infant, and now I am in charge of parenting a soon to be adult. (Wow! No pressure there.) If you are in a place today, with your teenager, your tweenager, or even your toddler for that matter, that causes you to have the urge to pull your hair out by the roots...please know...this too shall pass. It is only a splotch of your life, that you WILL eventually get through. One that you will look back on one day and say, "Aww..that was nothin'." Ecclesiastes 3:1, "There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heaven." Try to remember, and never forget, that you were once in their shoes, struggling to find your purpose in this world. It's all a part of the process of life. Besides all the "drama" that my two teenage girls can bring, I am still able to sit in awe of God's wonder. They are two amazing young girls with explosive and delightful personalities and, I wouldn't have it any other way. I am honored, to be able to watch them grow, into the truly devoted young women of God that they are. Thank you God for allowing, and trusting me to parent such awesome children. Guide me in everything I do with them. Help me to continually encourage them to seek out who they are in You. And, when times are hard, and we are battling against one another's strong wills, remind me that...this too shall pass. Proverbs 22:6, "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."