Where else?

Where can our kids learn how to navigate “troubled waters?”

I’ve got a good friend who was recently telling me about an acquaintance that had lost his wife more than a year ago.

In his words…

“The kids lost both parents when they lost their mom.”

I was saddened. But I get it.

When my sweet wife, Shelly, passed-away I read account after account of spouses who fell into deep (and extended) distress and depression.

I knew others had been through what I was going through. And I figured who better to learn from than those who’d personally experienced the same kind of overwhelming heart-break I was feeling.

Story after story… after story of lives ruined and families destroyed.

And I get it. Losing your spouse is heart-wrenching. Losing your mother is, too.

But…

But…

Maybe I’m just jacked-up. But it made me kinda mad.

There’s NO WAY I’m letting anything ruin our family’s happiness. Shelly WOULD NOT want that. She’d be all over me. And rightly so.

And frankly… I never felt like I had that luxury.

Certainly, I understand how one might lose themselves in misery.

Only a few years ago, as we were making small-talk, my brother, Kreg, asked me a simple question.

“What’s your worst fear?”

Without hesitation, I said, “Losing Shelly.”

So yeah, my worst nightmare has come true.

But…

But…

I’ll be damned if I’m going to watch my family decline without giving it the biggest fight of my life. I don’t care how much pain I feel. It just ain’t happening.

Time after time when I’d feel like I was overwhelmed with pain or misery, I’d be reminded of the time Shelly shared with me a vital lesson she’d learned.

It was after she’d had an extended tough time emotionally and had been struggling as a Mom, which I’m sure all Mom’s have experienced at one time or another.

She approached me with a twinkle in her eye and said…

“I learned something today that I’ll always remember…

When my emotions become so important to me that they get more attention than my kids… there’s a big problem. And I need to refocus on my love for them.

Because they’re always watching… and learning… from my example.”

Again… maybe I’m just jacked-up… but…

Raising these kids is an awesome responsibility.

Isn’t it exciting that we get to do that for them?

Isn’t it exciting that we GET to teach them how navigate “troubled waters.”

I mean… where else are they gonna learn it?