They intentionally wrestle until someone cries. Then one hurls false accusations and lobbies for the other to suffer intense punishment for the ‘crime’ he committed.
In five minutes, they’ve forgotten the grievous wrongs done to them and their giggling and telling jokes in the other room.
They’ve morphed from BFF’s, brothers and arch enemies all in the time it takes me to re-heat my coffee for the seventeenth time.
Motherhood.
There’s a dark side, for sure.
An exhausting monologue of self-doubt plays on repeat in my head: the rivalry will never stop … if I were a better mother, they would get along … I bet (insert other family’s name here) children don’t fight like this … Sometimes the words spill out of my mouth in a venomous spew, causing the boys to wonder, I’m sure, who is this angry woman and what has she done with their Mom??
Peace seems like an abstract concept, one we won’t experience in our home until they leave for college. Then I’ll be filled with regret and cry because it’s too quiet and my carpets are too clean and the Legos sit untouched in the attic.
Here’s the truth: we are all created for a purpose. In the image of our Creator. Whether we are 3 or 37, we make the same mistakes again and again. We rail against the things that seem unfair and squabble about what we feel entitled to.
The truth is: sometimes adults aren’t really that much different than children. We’ve just grown a filter that keeps our self-absorption subdued in public. So others will like us and think we’ve got it all together.
But the One who is the ultimate Truth offers us grace and hope and freedom from the struggles that knock us down. He has equipped us and longs for us ‘to run with perseverance the race He has marked out for us’. (Hebrews 12:1)
Linking up with Lisa Jo Baker and a fabulous community of writers for Five Minute Friday. We write, unscripted and unedited for five minutes and share our art with the world. Curious? Click here to join the fun. C’mon. Take five minutes and tell us what comes to mind when you hear the word ‘truth’.
” the ultimate Truth offers us grace and hope and freedom from the struggles”
you nailed it right there. that is the truth, no matter what. visiting from FMF. Thanks for writing!
Michaela, Thank you for stopping by and commenting today. I’m glad my words resonated with you. Blessings!
The truth is: sometimes adults aren’t really that much different than children. We’ve just grown a filter that keeps our self-absorption subdued in public. So others will like us and think we’ve got it all together.
We’ve got skills . . . unfortunately those very skills destroy us from the inside out! Stopping by from #FMF. Thanks for sharing this with all of us!
Hey, Brandi. Thanks for stopping by. Yes, sometimes our skills take us down, don’t they?