Every Monday, dad would whip up a special “Words of the Week” post to get our week started. I am not as good at finding special quotes or funny comics so I will have to rely on my siblings for help, but I did find a quote that might work for this week…

I actually posted this quote to my facebook wall three years ago, and it smacked me between the eyes again today. Not only did I think about this in my role as a mom now, but I thought about my parents as they took on the job of raising five hooligans. We were anything but “good kids.” My siblings and I are forever retelling stories of things that happened to us in the past – being chased by mom with a wooden spoon, playing loud music when we were mad, sneaking out of the house, skipping school…and that is just the small stuff. I won’t get into the big things of our sordid past!

As I sit here thinking of these things, I don’t have to wonder if mom and dad were frustrated – I know they were! But they were also filled with love and compassion for us kids, so they learned to show us what grace looked like in real, practical, everyday life. That is how their faith worked. They didn’t shove their religion down our throats. Instead, they lived out their faith and allowed us to make our own choices.

I’m thankful they didn’t try to be the “right” parents. Instead, they just loved us through life – every part of it. The highs and the lows – and believe me, the Siccardi kids knew how to hit those low notes. But instead of scolding us or guilting us into submission, they allowed their hearts to break for us. They took on our sadness. They fielded our pain. And they loved us through whatever tragedy or consequence we were suffering.

As a mom, I understand how difficult it is to cooperate with God sometimes. I am a people-pleaser and a “fixer,” much like my own mom was. Praying is not the difficult part for me. The difficult part is waiting and listening without jumping up too quickly and saying, “I’ve got the answer…” I have learned that I need to wrestle with the things happening just as much as my kids do. God has molded my own heart in the process of their physical growth for the purpose of their spiritual growth.

I want my kids to know and love Jesus as much as I do. I’d prefer they come to that deep love well before I did and without the crumby circumstances pushing me towards it, but beggars can’t be choosers. I think mom and dad felt the same way. So, I will continue to live by their example – loving my kids through their crazy while showing them what the grace and goodness of God looks like. Being a quiet example is sometimes the best way to get a kids attention. And if that fails, then we simply pray harder and allow God to move.

He has had a lot of room {and reason} to move in our family through the years – and I couldn’t love the story of restoration and redemption more. Trust me when I tell you, God is good. I am remembering those three words deep in my soul today and thanking him for blessing me with the family he so perfectly chose for me.  

What does this quote mean to you?

~ D 🙂