“You can rest when the work is done,” they said.
“That sounds like a good work ethic,” said my younger naive self.
Truth be told, my work is never done. I am a mum. Therefore I shall wisely rest when I can.
The work will never all be done.
Show yourself a little mercy and kindness. Take some rest if you need it.
The end.
Someone once said that the days are long but the years are short. I am nearly five years into this parenting journey and I understand what they mean now.
Bethany is just one month off her third birthday. She has changed so much this year. She’s really not a baby anymore but is still a gorgeous little girl.
In many ways, Bethany is just like any other child. She runs, climbs, laughs, smiles, screams etc. But Bethany has her own particular challenges. She doesn’t talk, except for the word “mama” or vowel sounds. We are still unsure whether this is related to her palate (she has had two surgeries already for cleft lip and palate) or whether her communication issues are more special needs based.
Bethany has developmental delays, mainly in communication, but she also displays some autistic style behaviour: spinning, hand flapping, severe tantrums. She has no fear of danger and also has sensory processing issues.
Covid19 has not helped as far as getting her the help she needs. In mid summer we began attending video link therapy sessions. The number of professionals involved increased in August and I’m feeling generally more supported, although I tend to have a lot of appointments which can mean that not much gets done at home.
We have recently been transferred the the special needs speech and language therapy team. I am hoping we will be able to have in person therapy soon as it is hard to engage Bethany through video link.
It is increasingly clear that we made the right decision to put Lucy into school this year rather than the original plan of homeschooling. She is settled and flourishing.
Friends who pray, please pray for us as we navigate the special needs world. I am hopeful that Bethany’s issue is just her palate but from her behaviour it seems maybe not.
If it is her palate we will have another surgery to (not) look forward to.
Thanks for reading.
Jenni
Facebook and Twitter etc most often show just our highlights. We put our best foot forward and share our happiest moments and our sweet successes. But how often do we share our problems and our life challenges?
Sharing our problems and challenges is hard on social media. Maybe that’s because it can be impersonal. Maybe it’s too public. Not many people are comfortable being vulnerable with 500+ people.
The problem with not sharing these things is that to the observer our life looks easy. We have no problems. We have the perfect life and the perfect family with lots of holidays and adventures etc. The reader can become envious and disillusioned with their own life, filled with trials and tribulations.
Can I challenge you to be brave? Can I challenge you not just to share the good, but to at least share some of the challenges? After all, the challenges of our life are what grow us. They make us stronger and hopefully better people if we allow God to mould us through them. You don’t have to share everything tough, but maybe some of it, just to balance out your highlights reel.
I will try to lead by example.
Thanks for reading.
Jenni
While at university, I majored in the School of Religion and minored in Creative Writing. Unfortunately I have done very little writing since. I have been busy; first with jobs and Christian ministry commitments, and then with motherhood. However, as life has progressed I have been sensing a call on my heart to begin to journal the highs and the lows of everyday life. There are so many lessons and memories that ought to be remembered and reflected upon, and so many things that God is teaching me personally, both through the challenges I face and also through His Word. In the Bible we read:
“Then Samuel took a stone, and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and called the name of it Eben–ezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
1 Samuel 7:12
This blog is my feeble attempt to set up memorials of how God has helped and is helping me in life’s many challenges. I hope that sharing may help and encourage others, because “we read to know we are not alone” (William Nicholson).
Jenni
Memories, Musings, and Meditations 