Day 7: Do Hard Things

Dear Little Princess,

Tonight, Baby D started running a fever just as you and the boys and I were getting ready to spend the night at Grammie’s.  Grammie had asked us if we could house-sit for them, but Daddy has to stay home because our house is a lot closer to his work than Grammie’s house is.  Caring for sick spark plugs is one of my least favorite Mommy jobs, and caring for sick spark plugs on my own without Daddy’s help is even harder.

Just before we left, Daddy offered to keep Baby D with him and to take a sick day tomorrow.  I was so, so tempted to take him up on his offer.  I know I would have slept better and would have worried less.  But Daddy just took off two family days last week, and as much as I would have loved him to stay home with D, I knew that Daddy’s boss would appreciate having him in the office instead of at home.

So, I did a really hard thing:  I took all the spark plugs up to Grammie’s as planned.

For another mommy, this probably wouldn’t have been a big deal at all.  But this is one of my struggle areas, so for me, it was a really hard thing to do.  And I did it anyway.  I know that the Lord will help me.  I know that this illness, whatever it is, will not last long in the big scheme of things.  It’s probably just a virus.  Even so, it fills me with dread.  I’ve always been afraid of sickness, and I probably will always have that fear.  I don’t have to give into that fear, though.  I can still choose to do hard things.

I want you to know that doing hard things is a skill to be desired and learned.  I’m not talking about things that are hard for no reason, like trying to roll over car just by pushing it.  That’s plain silly.  I’m talking about hard things that take determination, that require work, and that result in satisfaction.  Perhaps you’ll struggle with math or spelling.  Working diligently at your difficult subjects takes patience and dedication, but the reward is so worth the effort!

Maybe the hard thing you’ll need to do is telling the truth.  Whatever that looks like – confronting a wayward friend with Biblical truth or confessing to sin of your own – choose to do that hard thing.  The longer you wait, the harder it will be.  Determine to eat that frog and get it over with quickly.

It’s easy to see something that is difficult to accomplish and not want to try it at all.  I would encourage you to do it anyway.  Occasionally, you’ll realize that finishing it isn’t what’s best.  Maybe you’ll try a business venture that, after a good, long, hard trial, isn’t bearing fruit, and it’s time to pursue a different avenue.  That’s completely fine, because you still did the hard thing first.  More often than not, though, you’ll find that doing hard things reaps rewards beyond your imagination and that you can accomplish much, much more than you ever thought possible before you tried.

And just remember, I’ll be your biggest cheer leader as you do those hard things.

All my love,

Mommy