During the parenting years, it is very easy to bemoan the fact that you have lost the type of freedom you once had during those carefree days without children. Nothing is as jarring as having a baby who changes your whole world or turns it upside down. It is very natural to mourn the loss of your long lost freedom when continuous sleep is much coveted by fatigued parents of newborns. How about the fact that you can no longer have a continuous adult conversation without a child interrupting? How about going on a date with your husband . . . . ALONE!? How about spending some time all by yourself in SILENCE? Or just hanging out with a friend? Or doing something as simple as taking a shower without having to worry about the kids? Or perhaps you’re tired of disciplining your children, especially when it seems like nothing is getting through their heads. Maybe you’re just plain exhausted in picking up toys everywhere, cooking and cleaning. Life with little ones seems like the same monotonous cycle replayed over and over again.

You may feel like what I’ve described — I certainly have — but one thing we need to be reminded of is that we need to keep a proper perspective. Gary Thomas, in his book Sacred Parenting, writes:

Elton Trueblood has helped many Christians face this tension between family life, service, and devotion by pointing out that we live our lives in chapters. No one chapter defines a complete story. There is the chapter of your singleness, the chapter of your first years as a married couple, the chapter of your years raising toddlers, the chapter of your years raising teens, the chapter of your years as empty nesters, and the chapter of your years as a grandparent. God won’t judge our lives by one chapter in isolation but by the story these chapters, woven together, create. During some of these chapters certain things slide, including extended hours in personal prayer. But the the heart of the matter is your overall attitude toward serving the Lord and those he loves. Over the course of your whole life, does your story reveal devotion and adoration?

Next time you feel frustrated with the little people, just remember that this is just a chapter of your life, and it will not last forever. And persevere, mindful that the theme of your entire life book is the true test of your devotion for the Lord as you serve your family.  As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 15:58:

Therefore, my beloved brothers [and sisters], be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.