13-19

I once did the math and determined that I would never have four teenagers at once.

But then Maddie.

So even though Jeddy turned 20, I do have four teenagers: Caleb is 13 now and Maddie is 19, and the girls are in between (14 and 17). 

I absolutely love having teenagers. Babies are so cute and squishy, but, wow, big kids can take care of themselves and be in polite company. My particular kids, blessedly, have not lived up to the teenager reputation. It’s rare in our house that we have teenage angst or sass.

And really, maybe the thing about teenagers isn’t that they’re such a pain, as we’re told, but that parents can sin against them in new ways. You can laugh at your two-year-old but it’s deeply hurtful to your thirteen-year-old. You’re living with a human who’s changing and turning into a fellow adult, and if you don’t adjust, you sin against them in a whole myriad of ways, and then get annoyed that they suddenly notice.

I have no other hope but You

When weak and faltering are my steps

When faith is thin and soul is stretched

When sin taints all my very best

You are just and holy, right and true

I have no other hope but You

~ Burress McCombe, “I Have No Other Hope but You”