“You make it look so easy!” were the words of a Costco mom who offered them with kindness. She was younger than me by a decade, and was now watching me trying to keep my kids from wandering in front of other people’s carts…again. I think she was referring to parenting looking easy.

As I lapped the store a few more times, I thought about what she said. Sometimes I think that parenting is like ballet. I’m not speaking from first-hand experience here – I never wore a tutu, but the girls have fun looking at books and imitating a few pirouettes now and again. Like ballet, parenting can provide the illusion of effortlessness, but it never reaches a plateau of ease or simplicity. The demands keep changing, and the challenges evolving as our children grow. This requires constant vigilance – even the pros have bloody feet when they practice. So, this illusion of grace and control truly lies only with the spectator.

Painfully slow-moving, weak and awkward is my parenting reality. In fact, I’m pretty terrible at parenting. As I stick with it, I pray I will improve, but I know I will not achieve mastery. No amount of time or practice will result in my mastering the art and skills of being the perfect godly mother. God’s plan for parents is proficiency in faith and perseverance in servanthood (no diplomas or credentials here!).

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain. 1Corinthians 15:58

Unless the Lord builds the house,
those who build it labor in vain. Psalm 127:1a

Parenting is my test of faith. The labor of parenting, no matter our season, is the Lord’s.

with love, Damaris