Pick Your Battles

Okay, so we have a 12 year old middle school daughter. Enough said, everybody pray for us.

No but really, Liv is amazing and will succeed in all she does. Because she has always been one strong willed stubborn girl. As you can imagine, this was very challenging in her toddler years. Reasoning with a Toddler can be like reasoning with a Drunk Person. (DP)

Let’s compare the two:

• Toddler: They cry because you didn’t give them the right cup
• DP: They cry because they are cut off from alcoholic beverages for the night
• Toddler: They get mad because their socks feel weird
• DP: They might take their shoes off and walk places they shouldn’t
• Toddler: They take off their pants because they aren’t comfortable anymore
• DP: They take off their clothes. Because, alcohol.
• Toddler: You have to bribe them to leave the park
• DP: You have to bribe them to leave the bar

Here is a pic of Liv having a very big temper tantrum at a wedding. I just love her bratty face.

I learned early on which battles to fight with her and which ones to leave alone. Food was a trigger for her so I never made her eat all her food and she pretty much got to eat whatever she wanted. I’m surprised she didn’t turn into a ramen noodle. I learned to let her wear whatever she wanted, no matter how much it didn’t match or if it was a princess dress for weeks. One year, she was obsessed with Bethany Hamilton and insisted on wearing her bikini under her clothes and her arm inside her shirt. At home and out in public. If you haven’t see Soul Surfer yet, DO IT. It’s a true story. Bethany is a surfer who survived a shark attack in which ended up with her losing an arm. She’s super inspirational.

As Liv grows, our battles change. Now, we talk about dressing modestly so we don’t attract the wrong kind of attention. We talk about boys and keeping a good reputation. We talk about how being kind is better than being right. We talk about that one A LOT. We talk about social media, depression and anxiety. I do my very best to coach her through basically all the struggles of being a 6th grade girl.

She LOVES middle school, BTW. A drastic change from elementary.

She steps up to the plate to defend her faith, and also has grown an empathy for people she didn’t have before. Cancer did that.

She’s at that age where she needs to fight her own battles.

I am learning that God picks our battles.

Wait. WTF?

God picked for me to have cancer and go through hell for the last year?

Yep.  

That is a tough pill to swallow. There were times during this I couldn’t even talk to God. I felt so shocked. That’s where you all came in. I don’t know how else to describe it, but I felt so incredibly prayed for, covered and protected.

God picked this battle for me to fight. And He fought it for me. It totally sucked, but it could have sucked worse. He gave me strength, courage and so much love to endure the battle. I remembered that He had been preparing me for this for years. My food allergies, being in the best physical shape of my life, and making my mind and body and spirit incredibly disciplined are all things He did to prepare me. He even changed my job so I was able to focus on healing and fighting and not lose any income. He had us get a cancer policy 2 years before we needed it.

It’s astonishing how well God took care of us and prepared the way.

This is the last race I ran in before we found out about the cancer. It was a sprint triathlon relay with my Kiki and our friend John. Kiki swam, John biked and I ran. Kiki found out she had cancer 2 weeks after I found out about mine. It was the same kind. She’s doing great now!

Whatever battle you are going through, let Him fight it for you. He knows exactly what He is doing. It will all make sense one day. I don’t think I will ever know here on Earth why God picked me, and a lot of other people, to fight this one. I don’t know why He spared my life. But some day, we will know.

“One day I’ll stand before you and look back on the life I’ve lived. I can’t wait to enjoy the view and see how all the pieces fit.” – Casting Crowns