Spiritual Sundays: The Parable of the Swing

Editor’s Note: Power of Moms is a website for mothers of all religious preferences. Our Spiritual Sundays section is a place where our authors can write about thoughts that are more spiritual in nature, and our goal is to gather a wide variety of perspectives. If you (or someone you know) has something to add to this section to help us reach a wider audience of mothers, please send the submission to [email protected]. Thank you.

Despite having a to-do list that may wrap the circumference of the earth several times over, I recently heeded my three-year-old daughter Felicity’s repeated pleas to go to the park. Low lying clouds created a hush all around the neighborhood, and the emptiness of the park itself led to a quiet, serene moment with just Felicity and me. The feeling of quietude, especially within the walls of my own mind, had been rare in recent days, so I was grateful that I had broken myself away from the agenda to experience this serenity.

Felicity, of course, headed straight for the swings — the big girl swing. On her tummy, she hopped up. She asked me to push her faster. Her legs were dragging so I told her to lift her legs higher. Unfortunately, the attempt to raise her little legs produced a colossal fall for her small body.

I reached down to pull her up and then I held my crying little girl. While brushing off the dreaded playground bark, I found myself saying the words that I needed to hear: “It’s okay, you just fell. You can get right back up and try again. Here sit on my lap–we can swing together.”

As I held my bark-clad daughter on that swing, my mind raced with the deeper meaning of my words. I am in the midst of a life transition — trying to accept my husband’s disease of Multiple Sclerosis, continuing to understand and fulfill my role in our family, and working to help support us through various avenues.

Lately, I have felt as if I were on the swing, trying to lift my legs to keep from dragging on the ground in order to reach new heights, but so often tumbling off into the dirt. After some falls, I am able to recover quickly; other times, I just want to sit there amongst the bark, chuck it around, and cry.

These colossal falls have required someone else to pick me up and offer to swing with me. I must understand that it is okay to fall; I just need to keep getting back up and rely on the Lord to help me stand and try again.

I have been praying for help from the Lord in acceptance and in opportunities, and now that I have my answers, I need to get to work. I need to not be afraid to fall. I need to stop letting each setback get me down, but realize that I have someone there who will raise me up and swing with me.

I am grateful that even in the everyday bits of life, such as a trip to the park with my girl, the Spirit of the Lord can touch my heart to find deeper meaning and answers for my yearning soul.

QUESTION: When have you found meaning or answers in something unexpected?

CHALLENGE: Consider the moments in your life where you felt that answers were received, and discuss them with a spouse, relative, or friend.

Image provided by Briana Johnson.

About Briana Johnson

Briana sees life in a swirl of colors and ideas and does her best to create some sort of order. Some of the swirling life elements of this California girl include being a mama to 3 active boys and 1 'baby' girl , a living room dancer, music addict, lifestyle blogger and fierce supporter of her husband who is battling with Multiple Sclerosis.she and her husband blog over at Sweet Dreams Are Made of These. She writes on the dish on mommyhood, finding creativity in daily life, and the faith that inspires her to find joy in living despite obstacles. Swing on by and say hi.