Ironman Parenting

In parenting, some of us get a tougher row to hoe than others. A special needs kid, a learning disability…or a stubborn as hell bent on killing you kid who decides hard knocks are better than easy life lessons learned through the mistakes of others around you.

A friend of mine posted “We work hard so the fight is easy. If you don’t work hard then the fight’s hard” as she was preparing to take on The Ironman World Championships in Kona. She is a phenomenal young woman has trained while finishing up med school and managed to make it to the top of her field not only academically but physically.

The Kona Ironman is no laughing matter. My family has left it’s fair share of skin and blood on that course. David’s dad, brother, sister, brother-in-law, and my amazing hubby have all competed and left at times victorious and at times with their heads hanging low. All the training, all the fight…and one small factor, small injury, unexpected bike crashes and difficult weather patterns can cost you a race you’ve trained for over the last 2-3 years. It’s no laughing matter– although the competitors will tell you they all “enjoy” the masochistic search for victory.

It struck me what a parallel to parenting this was. We work hard in our parenting and that makes the decision to FIGHT FOR our kids an easy one. Every throw up bug, bad grade, bad attitude and lost game makes our resolve that much stronger, that much more powerful. We do the heavy lifting in prayer and when the wolf comes to blow our house down we settle in for the siege. We work hard so the fight is easy.

But if we don’t work, or won’t work…it’s so easy to give up because our investment is minimal. All the sentiment and intentions don’t add up to squat when the rubber meets the road. Our kids can sense our reluctance to battle and their very sin nature will win over our strongest desires after our weakest efforts. No my friends…we must not try with only words and intentions but fight daily for the future of our progeny in the heavenlies and in the day to day. Some days I feel victorious and other days I am swamped with inadequacy…but my resolve never waivers where my heart may fail.

So work hard in your parenting. There is no easy way out and there are no shortcuts. No tricks of the trade and no trade secrets. It’s hard-bleeping-work and it’s over our head nine days out of ten but that’s no excuse for giving up or for laying down. Work hard so that WHEN the fight comes, you’ve invested too much to give up or give in. Working hard will make the fight easier.

And no matter what our circumstances say, I know who wins the war.