Interruptions

As a parent, I know my kids are going to make mistakes. And I know those experiences will help them grow in significant ways. I have a degree in Psychology. I know about human growth and development. But these days, with a house full of teens and tweens, all that logic can fly right out the window in a second.

Because as they get older, the stakes are higher. Because a lie at age 4 about whether they snuck a cookie and a lie at age 17 about what happened at the party last night are two vastly different things. And the lasting effects of those scenarios are vastly different as well.

So, if I am not careful, fear sneaks in. And parenting from a place of fear never leads to good things.

A few years ago, one of our kids was going through a really challenging time. And before I knew it, we found ourselves in a place I never imagined we would be. So, I reached out to some parents who are a little farther down the road for some good advice. And we started a counseling journey with our child. And we prayed like crazy for things to change.

And in that season, if I am honest, I was expecting things to change quickly. I mean, I was doing “all the right things,” right? I just felt like everything that was happening was an interruption to my child’s faith journey. And if we could just get back on course, things could start moving in the right direction again.

I do not know if that is how I would have described my feelings at that time, but in hindsight, it’s so clear what was happening. I found myself getting increasingly frustrated with how things were going. Why wasn’t God fixing this?

But what God was doing was so much bigger than I could have imagined. He was working in my child’s heart, but he was doing work in my heart too. He was helping me to see that what was happening was not an interruption. Instead, it was a crucial part of the journey.

God was using the situation (mistakes and all) to teach my son things that would change the way he viewed the world, his faith, and his relationship with Jesus. Because while God cares deeply about the details, he can also see the big picture.

One of my favorite songs in that season was a song called “Waymaker.” In the bridge of the song, it says:

Even when I don’t see it, you’re working

Even when I don’t feel it, you’re working

You never stop, you never stop working

You never stop, you never stop working

When we are going through something that feels like an interruption, we can trust that God is actively working it out for his glory and for our good. Because the story is not finished…

MEET ERIN MASHAW: Erin Mashaw writes with openness, vulnerability, and a passion to help people know that they really can trust God no matter what. While she doesn’t really like pets and hates almost all sports, she loves Jesus, her husband, and their four kids. She tolerates the family dog, Albie.