We’re Going on a Bear Hunt
It’s been longer than I care to admit (7 months… ugh) since I have posted a blog. I have an abundance of musings I have written and scrawled in my journals in the last 1/2 year and I decided it’s time I started getting these bad boys out into the world… so here we go… again.
This post is from the potty-training days… I am happy to report Little Boy B is now fully potty trained and even (as of this morning) will loudly yell “MOMMY! MOMMY! I HAVE TO POOP! I AM GOING TO POOP” at the top of his lungs in the gift wrapping aisle at Target. I am sure they heard him over in electronics- or on the moon. Good times, Y’all!
I’ve learned a lot as a Mama and have drawn many conclusions along the way. The most recent being, children’s books are sometimes deepAF.
Seriously.
One of our pre-bath time night routines is for ToddlerB to sit on the potty while I read him a book. (Just doing my job to prepare him for adulthood where he will sit on the toilet and scroll through his phone as his legs fall asleep.)
Lately my sweet Toddler B has been infatuated with bears.
Elmo? Pshht, so last year.
Thomas the Train? New phone, who dis?
Paw Patrol? Meh.
Bears are where it’s at for this little guy!
In his bedtime reading stack, he usually has a few bear-centered books on-deck but they all culminate with “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. Maybe you have read it? If not, here’s the link… buy it, read it, be amazed.
I am sitting on the floor of ToddlerB’s bathroom. He is perched comfortably on his potty. As I am reading the book it dawns on me… the path of this little family devoted to discovering a bear is a lot like our lives sometimes. In the book they come up against these crazy obstacles- a snowstorm, a river, a forest. Each time they come to an obstacle, the mantra is:
We can’t go over it. We can’t go under it. We gotta go through it.
How many times do we come up against obstacles in life. We want to bypass them, go around them, fly over them, dig a hole and go under them (or can I be honest and say just stick our head in the dirt). The truth is, we can’t do any of those things. The only way to get past the obstacle is to go through it. Even when it’s uncomfortable, even when we don’t like it one bit, even when it’s scary. This sweet innocent book is such a great reminder the only way to the other side of something is through it.
I have heard from so many of my sweet readers along the way who face life-things that are unbearable sometimes and yet I see you all, going through, bearing it all- like the bad ass bosses you are. It hits me in a deep heart space. I don’t know who out there needs some encouragement today but, “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.” (Isaiah 40:29) The obstacles that are so big they could break us (and sometimes do). The obstacles that we can’t understand and make us want to shake our fists at Heaven. The obstacles that are so painful that it makes it hard to breath. He offers us power and strength to get through even the most soul-crushing things. I am so grateful we have the One who can help get us through.
I am snapped back to reality when ToddlerB stands up from his potty and happily announces “I pee’d, Mommy!” Another Potty Time is in the books. I hope this offered some encouragement wherever you are on your path today. Our obstacles are big but sweet readers, our God is so, so, so much bigger.
Spoiler alert… at the end of the book, the family ends up finding a bear, who then proceeds to chase them all the way home. When they get there, they all jump into bed proclaiming “We’re never going on a bear hunt again!” While I feel that feel, I also kinda disagree. I don’t usually bet, but if I did, I would bet that in the sequel, they end up going on a bear hunt again.
I wonder what would happen for us in our lives if we faced our heart-wrenching life things with a mindset that we aren’t embarking on it alone and because of Him, there is no fear.
We’re going on a bear hunt!
We’re going to catch a big one!
What a beautiful day!
We’re not scared!