I remember the day I decided that I was going to venture outside of the house with my first child by myself. I was so nervous. We were simply going through a coffee drive through. But it felt really daunting to me. It wasn’t buckling him in the car seat or driving him. It was literally being out and about with him… alone. Those first six months of his life, I simply wouldn’t do anything I couldn’t do without a drive through. I would wait for my husband to get home from work until I left the house.
When our second child was born (2 months pre-COVID), I kind of started over again – no way could I leave the house alone with TWO children. I was outnumbered. Then COVID came and I didn’t ever have to flex that muscle to grow – my husband was always home.
When our third child was born, my husband and I had both begun working from home. So I certainly didn’t have to flex any muscles to leave my house with kids alone.
Now, my youngest is approaching 2.5 years old, and it took me until just a few weeks ago to notice something. Somewhere, along the way, I learned how to leave the house alone with not one, not two, but three kids. I have no idea when it happened. It simply dawned on me a few weeks ago while I was out and about with all three kids… and I was NOT stressed or anxious about it.
As parents, you don’t notice how your children change as they grow. It takes someone from outside of your family to say something like “Oh my goodness! Your hair has gotten so long!” or “Wow! You’re so tall” for us to realize how much our children are changing. I think something similar can be said about us as parents. One day you’re terrified to leave your house with one baby, and the next day you are out and about with three children under the age of 8. It just… happens.
We grow up with our kids. As they grow, we are forced to grow. It might feel slow and steady (or slow and chaotic), but we are growing with them.
My husband and I often talk about God helping us to grow in our trust of Him. God first immediately answers our prayers, but as we grow in our trust, He asks us to trust Him more. Before we know it, our trust “muscles” are fully engaged and we are trusting God. Much like leaving the house alone with three kids, it kind of just happens. Not to say it’s not hard work, because it certainly is – both in getting out of the house with young kids (buckling three car seats is no joke) and learning to trust God (because being patient is no joke). But if we persevere, one day God reveals to us how far we have come.
So whether your trust in God is at the stage of a single newborn baby or at the point of leaving the house outnumbered, keep flexing your muscles. Even if it takes someone else pointing out the growth, you will notice one day how much you have grown. Just as we grow alongside our kids, God is always with us, His children, as we grow, too.
