I don’t know about you but having kids changes everything - and I do mean everything.
Before kids, I had so much free time - but I didn’t know it until AFTER I had my children!
My time was now spent on nursing fevers, potty training, chauffeuring, chaperoning, trips
to the park, toys, music lessons, swimming classes, working harder to afford tuition,
clothes, not too mention all the time and money spent on groceries.
And you know something? I
wouldn’t change a thing!
Here’s the thing, kids test your patience, stress you out, and wear you down.
They make you feel like you’re losing your mind sometimes.
Before kids, I felt like I had my act together – I was going places! I was cool-headed,
poised, a picture of grace under pressure, calm, and I thought I knew a
thing or two about
life.
But after kids, I realized how much I didn’t really know – especially about life.
The parenting lifestyle is grueling, too. The pace leaves you feeling worn
out and frazzled. You might even have spaghetti dangling from your ears
depending what’s on the menu.
Before kids, you wrote proposals and gave reports along with the best of them; you
were a successful negotiator who
closed deals. There wasn’t much you couldn’t handle.
But after kids? Different story. It’s a mystery as to why a grown adult can have such
difficulty negotiating with a child!
****** But the biggest change of all once you have kids is that you and your spouse
have much, much less time together. ******
You have less time and energy to connect with each other mentally, spiritually,
emotionally and
physically.
You have much less time to connect with yourself because you’re so busy taking
care of everyone else’s needs.
It’s easy to feel like your hopes and dreams have been put on hold.
If you’re not careful, you and your spouse will drift.
And if either of you feels you’re doing more/most of the work, watch out because
there'll be trouble in paradise.
But…Don’t… Give… Up.
It’ll get better.
All I ask is this:
No matter how tough things get or exhausted you feel, don’t give up
on each other.
Parenting is one of life’s most glorious and rewarding experiences.
Choose to focus on the blessings not the burdens.
Parenthood is a defining moment - an opportunity to strengthen your marriage, to
raise a beautiful family, to grow as a person and to leave a legacy.
Here are a few tips to make the most of this defining moment:
- Take time for reflection – to see the blessing and not the bad in the situation.
- Ask, “How can I use this opportunity to grow and become a better person?”
- Express gratitude for the sacred
privilege of being a mom or dad.
- Identify ways to grow your kids into people who make life better for others.
- Take time for your spouse to nurture and enjoy your relationship.
- Take time for yourself to care for your soul, hopes and
dreams.
- See things as they really are not worse than they are.
Defining moments are turning points in life where we get to choose the direction
we want to go.
We can either make excuses or rise to the challenge and create an even better
life than the one we had before.
So don’t give-up. Keep going…and cherish each moment along the way because
the day soon comes when you how the time went by so fast.
Until next week, this is Mike & the team and we want you to be mad about marriage!
