Some Things You Can’t Count on Anymore……you just gotta ROLL WITH IT


ImageWhen my kids were 4 and 2, they played the part of flower girl and ring bearer in their cousin’s wedding. At the time we still were all kinds of messy from the LYME, although we didn’t know the cause then. Just that everything was “life-on-egg-shells” pretty much 24/7.

There were a few things we thought we could count on in knowing our children thus far. My son, the elder of the two, hated weird fabric textures and being in front of people. He does however mostly do what he is told to do, but we knew we would have to seriously bribe him to walk down the aisle in that tux and give him a time frame that he could then tear it off after and wear regular clothes.

My daughter was and always has been quite a performer and loves being the center of attention. She loves frilly dresses and prancing and dancing around in them. So, no problem, she will love this part. We just have to make sure she is fed and rested and she will perform on cue – probably too much.

These are the things we tend to “know” as parents. Things we would bet the bank on. I mean we would have gone double or nothing on these facts for the wedding performance. But then, well, you know life has a way of turning what we know and put our security in on its head.

On the wedding day, the young performer did not get enough sleep and the frilly dress began to “itch” her. She ran around in her underpants and fancy shoes and I had to bribe her, beg her and quite frankly push her down the aisle while my husband dangled more cookies out from the front like a carrot for the greyhound dogs that race.

My son – no problem – he hurried down the aisle more embarrassed at his sister’s issues. To our amazement – he did not fuss at all, AT ALL.

Well, good thing we didn’t bet the bank, huh?

In life, there are always unpredictable turns and things that turn us up-side-down and scare the living daylights out of us. We just are completely unprepared for them. We like stability and security and control – all of is false. But nonetheless, we cling to things that are temporal and disappear like a vapor – poof.

Something I say to my kids all the time that came back to haunt me during the Lyme debacle – “you gotta just roll with it”. There are so many things in life and in LYME that are completely shocking, scary and out of our control. You just gotta roll with it.

There is nothing you can truly count on in this world – no money, no house, no job, no health – nothing. Ask the people after Hurricane Katrina, or the people after the tornado in Joplin or Moore – what can you truly count on?

You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. (1 John 4:4)