I Choose Today to lay down my eraser

I read recently about an interesting concept: being able to erase hardships in your kids’ lives before they happen. As a mom, I want to protect my child for all pain, but deep down, I know that pain results in growth. This knowledge comes from being tall. Because I was becoming tall, when I was growing up, I experienced intense growing pains. Without those pains, I wouldn’t have experienced the growth I eventually had/have.

This reminds me of a verse Paul wrote to the Corinthian church,

“All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

One of those growth opportunities for my daughter was when she had a sports injury that resulted in five surgeries (in six years), and to intense pain of learning how to walk and run again; years, days, and hours of pain. When her D-1 diving coach asked her if she wished that injury never happened, she said no. She explained that she learned and grew as a person so much during those painful years. She told him those invaluable life lessons about preservance, fortitude, and how to approach obstacles and turning them into opportunities. Turning obstacles into opportunities became her mantra of sorts. When faced with adversity, instead of looking at it in despair, she looked for the opportunity that would eventually come from it.

So if handed an eraser to eliminate hardships for my child, I’d just put it down.