I needed to step back and really see where they are. As they grow and develop, they are constantly changing. When there is something that used to be achievable to them, all of a sudden, it isn’t anymore. It can be confusing. To me, to them. Frustration all around.

Having therapists in your home Monday through Friday is a lot. Some days up to twelve hours. It takes a toll. Survival mode comes on. The good, the bad and the ugly is all on display. You are watched. You are told all the good things. You are told all the bad things. It is exhausting.

Once I started hearing this “meet them where they are at”, over and over again, it was easier to just think it. It was easier to have it come to my thoughts throughout the day. It really comes down to me being aware of each of them. Where they are struggling. Where they are hurting. Them lashing out is a way of communicating hurts.

As I stated in my recent post A Little Prayer Can’t Hurt, there has been a lot of bickering lately in our home. In addition to stopping and praying as a family when this happens, I decided to do an activity with the kids on perspective.

I wanted to do something that would help them to see things from one another’s perspective. I sat everyone at the table and had them take a piece of paper and draw a person on their paper. Then a sun. Then a heart. Then I had them write a word that is something they struggle with.

Then we lined them up on the table and we studied them. They were all different. Some had big people, some had small people. Some people were in the center of the page, some were in the corner. Some suns were massive, some suns were tiny. Some hearts were touching the person, some were just drawn randomly on the paper. Everyone’s words were different.

Here are some of the words: humility, patience, friends, being made fun of, school, change… But there was one word that really said it all.

My youngest can’t really draw and can’t really write due to her physical disability. That does not stop her from participating. She drew with her therapist at her side guiding her through the activity. She drew her best person. She drew her best sun. She drew her best heart. Then the therapist explained that she was going to write a word that is something that is hard for her.

To the therapist’s surprise, she immediately started writing. She mumbled as she wrote saying the letters out loud. You know what she wrote? Her name. The therapist asked if she wrote her name. She nodded. Then the therapist asked if it was hard to be her. She nodded again.

It is hard to be her. We were all amazed at her understanding of the activity. At her ability to tell us this. Something we had never thought of before, because she is always so happy. How humbled we were to hear her message.

It is hard to be human. It is hard to make mistakes. It is hard to be mocked. It is hard to be patient. It is hard to be humble. It is hard to be a leader. It is hard to be a hero.

She is my hero. You know what is interesting about being a hero? Hero’s struggle too. Sometimes we forget the thing that makes the person a hero, is that they overcame a great difficulty to become a hero. Heroes can be very lonely as they go through their difficulty.

In books, you can read along with the hero’s journey. You can see where they doubt themselves. You can see where they struggle. You can see where they make big mistakes. You can see where they feel so lonely. You can see the heaviness they feel.

Real life isn’t all that different. You are the hero of your story. Even if you are now a victim. Even if you now feel weak. Even if you are now just trying to survive. Even if you make a lot of mistakes. Even if you think it is too late, you can become the hero of your story.

Jesus Christ suffered all of our sins, pains, hurts, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He suffered your pain before you were even alive. He knows you. He knows your struggle. I know that if I turn to him when I struggle on my journey, He will lift me up and strengthen me when I need it most.