A group of people went to God and complained about the problems they’d been given, insisting that other people had it easier than them. God listened, and said, “Put your problems in the center of the circle. Then, take someone else’s instead.”

Each person put their problem in the center of the circle, and then stepped back to view and choose another.

After a silence, each person took their original problem back, and returned home.

—

I was speaking to a dear friend of mine – whose son is one week younger than mine – when she said, “Being a stay at home mom is so hard. I don’t know how you do it! I know I couldn’t.”

It was strange to hear that as I always look at her life and am wonderstruck at all that she is and all that she does. While I consulted & took time off during my pregnancy, she completed her Master’s degree, and worked full-time. When our babies were three months old, I chose to become a SAHM, and she chose to work outside of the home four days a week.

Whenever I feel overwhelmed by my life, I think about all the things she is juggling: being the mother of a toddler, buying a new home with her husband, caring for an aunt with advanced breast cancer and a mother with a failing memory, and working at a demanding job at one of the top universities in the nation.  I am amazed at her resiliency, the deep joy and humor that infuse her life, and the love and attention with which she nurtures her relationships. And I find myself thinking, “How does she deal with it all? I couldn’t!”

And then I am reminded of this story, and how we are all blessed in life with what we need to thrive.

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