Our pool has been a lifesaver on these hot days and provides much fun for our family. However, this summer wind provides much work for me with the pool as I feel like I’m forever skimming all the leaves and debris.

The most disheartening thing is when I finish skimming and am ready to kick back and relax, another gust of wind kicks up. In an instant the beautiful clear water is once again littered.

Such has been the past few days for me.

As I was out skimming for the fourth time yesterday, I thought about how my debris-magnet pool is much like life sometimes. Just when we catch up, there is a mound of things yet to do. Just when we get back from the grocery store, we think of four more things we forgot to get. Just when we get the house cleaned, the wet dog traipses across the floors. Just when our child masters a difficult situation, we’re faced with a few more. Just when we find a discipline tactic that works, our child enters a new phase with a whole new set of challenges.

There are days when I just want to sit down and let all the debris fall and wait to pick it up once it’s all done blowing. But the trouble is … we don’t know when it will stop and wind is inevitable. One thing is for sure — too much debris in a pool clogs filters (among other things) and letting it pile up creates more problems!

Being a parent isn’t much different. Circumstances and demands will always litter our path and threaten our kick back and relax idealistic dreams. That’s because our kids are constantly growing and developing which means we have to keep on our toes to keep up. Skimming. Skimming. Skimming. To give up only creates additional problems.

It’s in the challenges that speak volumes of what we’re made of and our tenacious desire to be the best parent we can be. So we need to keep on keeping on.

Right now, my pool has many floaties (and not the kind made for enjoyment). But no worries, I’m heading back out to skim once again …

“Wow, she’s opinionated,” my four-week-old daughter’s pediatrician exclaimed after seeing her display her inherent personality. I smiled, but silently wondered how her opinions would play out when she got older. It didn’t take long to see. Months later, it was clear no toy in front of her would entice her to crawl. She crawled when and where she wanted. She was a born leader. Fifteen years later, her opinions are further formulating and she still freely shares them.

When she was in elementary school, I wrote her special encouraging notes for her lunchbox every day. I didn’t ask myself how giving her encouraging notes would play out when she got older, but when I was discouraged with a long recovery from a car accident, I found out. She presented me with a page containing a couple of my notes I had given her over the years along with a few of her own now for me–just to encourage me in my day.

So often we go about our day not paying close attention to how what we say or do will play out over the long haul. What kind of an impact could it make if we did?

Waiting  …  it’s an interesting thing. Normally viewed as a drudgery, it usually doesn’t hit a Top 10 list anywhere. Instead we’re usually anxious for the next thing.

When my daughter was an infant, I couldn’t wait for her to talk. Most youth can’t wait until they get their driver’s license. High school students can’t wait until they graduate. We can’t stand waiting in long lines.

Waiting just means postponing what we really wish was already here. So what’s the problem? There is a whole lot of life and growth to be discovered IN the waiting.

I’m not a naturally patient person. I’m a mover and a shaker, go-getter, my mind goes faster than my mouth, and my feet faster than my mind. I’m always looking ahead to what’s next and even begin planning vacations nearly a year in advance. But over the course of the last year and a half, God has been teaching me a lot about waiting. For someone with my personality, staying in park for a while is rather trying.

I’ve gone in waves of accepting and thriving in the wait, then other bouts where I’m highly aware of being in park. But here are three valuable truths I’ve learned that I wouldn’t have grasped any other way:

1. Faith isn’t faith until it’s exercised. Faith isn’t a reality in the safety and comfort of life. Faith is stepping out trusting God when you have no clue what’s ahead and continuing to trust and believe He’s at work in times of silence.

2. Waiting isn’t a punishment. I feel incredibly blessed by what my family and I have learned through these periods of waiting. It’s made us stronger individually and an even stronger family. Often the biggest growth comes in times of waiting.

3. God goes before us to pave the way. Anyone can make things happen, but when we are letting God lead, He prepares the way, removes the obstacles, and moves us forward when His timing is perfect. The value of waiting on God far exceeds what we could have rummaged up ourselves.

So whether it’s waiting for school to start up in the fall, waiting for an answer to prayer, or waiting for your child to gain victory over a difficulty, don’t move ahead of God and pass up what He has in store as you wait!

Last week, I went into the backyard to water my potted plants hanging on a Shepherd’s hook. As I watered the right side plant, the weight of the water tilted the hook in that direction. When I watered the left side plant, the weight shifted to that side. I went back and forth like I normally do watering one side then the other to keep the weight even.

But something happened that hadn’t happened before, the steel hook started bending forward and wasn’t coming back up. Clearly there was a weak spot at the bottom of the  hook and suddenly the weight of the water bent the hook all the way over and the plants plummeted to the ground. I tried to lift the hook back up and straighten it, but it was too late– the steel hook was too weak and couldn’t hold the weight any longer.

At the time, I just made a mental note that we needed to get another hook sometime this week … that was until I read a scripture verse yesterday morning.

Psalm 145:14 “The Lord helps the fallen and lifts those bent beneath their loads.”

I immediately thought of the weak spot in my steel Shepherd’s hook and what a picture that is of life sometimes. The weight of burdens, circumstances, or demands bends us over as we try to shift the demands from side to side to keep them balanced thinking we’re made of steel and can handle it all. But before long, our shoulders ache, our strength is zapped, and we’re slammed to the ground unable to lift ourselves back up again.

Ever been there?

What a blessing to know that God is the only one to “straighten” us when we’re bent beneath the loads we’re carrying. What a blessing to know when we cry “God, help!!” He restores us to the place He’s designed for us to be and stand.

Whatever drama, chaos, or busyness your day brings, rest today knowing that He will lift you up!

As another year winds down and comes to a close, I’m reminded how close we are inching towards the college years for our daughter. Time is fleeting.

Over the years, she’s talked about a variety of careers she’d like, but like most children, they’ve morphed through the years. However, now they are solidifying more as she discovers how best to use her passions. It’s a cool uncovering to be a part of with her.

There are two words I’m finding I need to focus on more and more as a parent in these tender self-discovery years: encouragement and support.

Encouragement to challenge her to ask questions, to believe in herself, to be confident in the talents and passions God imprinted in her, and to go for it.

Support to listen to her ideas and concerns, to affirm the decisions she makes, to be there when she struggles and cheer her on to try again, and to reassure her — she can!

In the hurried pace of life, its easy to overlook the importance of those two words, but their impact is monumental. Be an anchor as your children find their path and give them the confidence they need to soar.

There are two lasting bequests we can give our children.

One is roots.  The other is wings.  ~Hodding Carter, Jr.