I woke up thinking of this strange wartime analogy for parenting. Who knows why? Anyway, it occurred to me that one of the many reasons that parenting is such a challenge is not just that it is demanding on all fronts--physical, mental, emotional. But that the job requires that you are to be the philosopher, policy maker, and the implementor of those policies. You are commander in chief, general, and infantryman: boots on the ground.
Perhaps you are an extremely talented person and can balance all these demands with ease. Personally, I find it a real challenge to concurrently use both sides of my brain. When I play and joke around with my children, there is a part of my mind distracted by the philosophy of child-rearing: How will this impact them in the long run? Will they be prepared? Do they know how much I adore them?. Or, I can research, consider, and pray about the child rearing, all the while a part of me wants to blow that off and go play with the kids.
Again, as with all areas of this life, I am grateful for a sovereign God. If I were trying to do this gig on my own strength, I would fail miserably. I am grateful that God does indeed have a plan, that it is good, and He loves me. Without that baseline in my world, it would be rather easily rocked, I'm afraid.
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