Unexpected. That sums up so much of life, doesn’t it? It seems we are always doing and planning, and then life shifts and we find ourselves unexpectedly changing course. Sometimes these changes in course are the very things we’ve always wanted. Other times, these course changes hand you the blank pages to a story you didn’t want to write. How do we find hope in those cases?

Have you ever looked up one day and realized your entire life revolves around your kids? In a fog of sleeplessness you realize you’re spending all day wiping something or someone . . . and you’ve forgotten even what you used to dream about. You realize you don’t even know what makes you feel alive anymore. And that can be more than a little depressing. When our children are young, our lives necessarily revolve around them. They can’t do anything for themselves and they require much from us. The little years are a season of denying ourselves and I think it is also a time the Lord uses to refine us and prepare us for more. It is a time and season, which also means that it will change and we must emerge from it.

If this thought has stalked you, chances are the fog of sleeplessness is slowly fading away and you’re emerging from the little years. While your children will still {and rightfully so} hold a major share of your time, the world is opening up a little bit again and perhaps the Lord is stirring your heart.