Something to be thankful for...

Thankful: Hard Times


I remember cradling my first child in my arms. She was a beautiful petite baby girl, already complete with her daddy’s brown eyes and her mother’s strong opinions. I remember dreaming what her life would hold, how she would grow, who she would become. Would she be artistic or analytical? Shy and reserved or colorful and flamboyant?
Would she become the first woman President or live a quiet life tucked away in the country?

But for all my dreams for her, they never once included her going through hard times.

In the ensuing six years, that naiveté has been swept away. I’ve realized that like every other soul on this earth, my precious, vulnerable baby girl will have her share of hard times. Whether it’s that first rejection by “mean girls” on the playground or the ultimate realization that some of her dreams will never come true, her little soul is destined to sorrow.

As a mother, my every instinct is to protect her from this. But as a human being, I know I cannot; for I cannot protect her from the very things from which I cannot even protect
myself. Hard times come to all of us.

And at the risk of sounding like a sadist, I confess that slowly, I’m learning to be thankful for that. To be thankful for hard times. Thankful, because they remind me of what’s really important – my husband, my children, food on the table, clothes on our backs. Thankful, because they make me appreciate and enjoy the easy times. Thankful, because they force me to grow up and think less about myself and more about others.

I’ve come to realize that, unlike my short-sighted dreams for my daughter, my heavenly Father’s dreams for me were big enough to include hard times, times that He would ultimately use to shape and mold me into the image of Jesus Christ.

And that’s something to be thankful for.


~Written by Hannah Anderson