Thanking God for the Bumps in the Road

There are a plethora of things about raising my little boy that don't make sense at all.
It doesn't make sense that . . .
* he would prefer if we removed the shocks from our car so he could feel every bump.
* he will be perfectly happy and then spit up all over the place as if he were not feeling well at all.
* he will nurse quietly every time except before he goes down to bed at night, at which point I feel like an alligator wrestler.
* he wants to suck his left hand but sleep with his head to the right AND be on his tummy.
* he will almost always become happy just by going outside (but it's FREEZING out there).
* he was waking up only once a night for two weeks and then went back to twice and now to three times.

But, despite all of these little frustrations, I have even more blessings.  I have spoken with moms in the last week or two who have children with learning disabilities, sleeping disorders, intense moral struggles, etc.  What inspiring women these mothers are to me!

They have learned that, (as a good friend once told me) we are asked to have faith, hope, and love--not knowledge--as we approach each new challenge in life.  I will never be able to perfectly plan and proceed with absolute confidence year to year (or hour to hour!), but that does not make me a failure as a mother.

When I feel frustrated, overwhelmed, ignorant, helpless, and tired, I try to fight back tears and remember the Mother who had the greatest Life entrusted to her as she was thrown into one new environment after another, homeless and poor.  She didn't always know or understand.  She did not get a divine manual for raising the Son of God.  She too had to just trust, hope, and love as best as she could.

So, that is my resolution too: Stop, drink some tea, snuggle with my congested little boy, take a deep breath, and take one more step forward.  I need to remember to thank God for the bumps in the road (every pothole that makes James smile)--those moments (good or bad) that don't make sense but are part of my daily life and need to be taken in stride with a smile and a prayer.