Are You Beating Your Head Against A Wall?

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward." Psalm 127:3

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Let me just stop you right there. Go back and re-read what that said. It says children are a gift of the Lord. It doesn't say teenagers are a gift of the Lord! (heehee)

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The older my children get they seem to be dragging me along behind them. They were once so cute and loveable and adorable and every single precious word I can think of. Now, most days they are rude, obnoxious, know just how to push my buttons and there are days I feel as though I'm beating my head against a wall. Oh, don't get me wrong. I love my children with every ounce of love that I have in my body. I would walk through fire so my children wouldn't hurt. I would stand on a wall as a guard if necessary to protect my children. But, there are those days that I just lay my head on the pillow at night and breathe in really deep and think to myself "another day has passed." Is it just me? Am I the only one who feels like that? Somehow I seriously doubt that I am.

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As I have been beating my head against a wall repeatedly lately I have begun to realize that it isn't just my children that make me want to scream. My husband, my dog, my job, just everything. I have days where I have beat my head so hard I have a complete and total headache.

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But, I have had an epiphany, a revelation, a moment I guess you could say. I have finally realized after many, many days of wanting to reach out and touch someone (literally) that I am wasting my time beating my head against an old wall. Instead, I should simply kneel down and beat my head against the cross. "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." Luke 23:34. Just because life throws you curves and twists and turns doesn't mean you are losing the battle. All that means is life is throwing you curves and twists and turns. Children, husbands, beloved animals, co-workers, parents are all a gift from God. They were perfectly placed in our lives to make us be all that we can be. Maybe they teach us patience. Maybe they teach us kindness. Maybe they teach us when to keep our mouths shuts. Maybe they teach us when to speak up. Maybe they teach us how to love. Maybe they teach us how to argue without being hurtful. Maybe they teach us how to keep our focus.

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God knew what we would need in our lives before we took our first breath. He knew how hard we could be pushed. He knew what type of heartaches we could withstand because "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you..." Jeremiah 1:4. Always remember that a "heartache" is nothing more than a "hard ache." It isn't going to be easy or smooth but if we simply stop beating our heads against an empty wall and begin to beat it on the cross Jesus will take that "hard ache" and he will soften it, turn it and make it new. Just as people are placed in our lives for a particular reason...we are placed in someone else's life for a particular reason. So, in order for him to turn someone else's heart he often times has to turn ours first.