The truth is, this job is very, very, very hard. It is demanding and exhausting and confusing and incredibly emotional. But that is exactly where the beauty is found. In the hard stuff. And in the big grace that makes the hard stuff into the holy stuff.

What if we were to say goodbye to survival mode, and begin embracing what we are really passionate about–those things that give us a deep sense of purpose?

The first time he asked the question, it stopped me in my tracks. Over the next few weeks he would repeat his request on several occasions, each time unsettling my spirit a little bit more.

He reminds me that life is more than burdens and agendas and stress. And that sometimes stopping to smell the flowers is not quite enough.

Whether you held your child in your womb for a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks, you need to know this: your story matters.

What our children observe our hands holding day in and day out will greatly determine what they decide to busy their own hands with. What might begin to change if we started taking note of what occupies our hands most?