EP 64 | Let the Good Spill Over

There are these strange moments in parenting when something that has required you every day suddenly doesn't.

For years, somebody needs you to tie their shoe.

I, I know people will say that I'll miss that one day.

I probably will.

I'm not there yet.

Same with brushing their teeth.

There may be a sweet memory in there somewhere, but right now it mostly feels like holding a small person's face still [laughs] while trying to clean their teeth as they explain why they can't stop moving.

Then one day they put on their own shoes.

They go play with each other instead of saying, "Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad." A few weeks ago, I was running beside my son while he rode his bike.

Running beside a kid on a bike is low-key one of the hardest parts of parenting, honestly.

There is no natural way to do it.

You're half running, half bent over, one hand near the seat, trying to look calm while both of you know that one wobble could take everybody down, right? And then he started riding.

I slowed down.

He kept going, and I realized I wasn't needed in the same way anymore.

That night, even, we got the kids to bed.

We, we finally solidified bedtime enough that Marcy and I look at each other like, "What do people do now?" And then, what do you know, the phone rang.

Somebody needed something, and I felt this resistance in me.

I just got this back.

I think that's what happens when life finally gets a little easier.

We want to protect it.

We don't want another need turning a good season back into an exhausting one.

But what if one reason God gives us more peace or strength or time or provision is that now some of it is available? Not all of it, not for every need, not until the good is gone, but maybe a good gift isn't only something to enjoy.

Maybe it's also something we can hold open enough that some of its goodness reaches somebody else.