Ever Wonder

Ever wonder why God doesn’t always give us things the easy way? I think today I got a small glimpse of why He doesn’t do that.
Of course I’ll have to give just a little bit of history in order to share what I learned. I’ll try to be brief. When Ella was a few months old we established a bedtime routine. We would rock, read books, sing, pray & lay her in bed. This worked. She would go to sleep on her own. All was well. Then we went to FL to get Vance & stayed at the Ronald McDonald House. They didn’t have a rocking chair so I had to bounce her but she still went to sleep on her own. We came home & went back to our old routine till Ella asked to be bounced. This became a pattern, so out went the rocking chair & in came the exercise ball. Then around the time Ella stopped taking naps she often fell asleep before Byron or I finished bouncing her. It was EASY for all of us. It was also convenient when we had something to do or somewhere to go after the kids were asleep to just bounce her till she fell asleep. But…that has now created a problem. She only wants to go to sleep being bounced and now if/when she wakes up in the night or super early in the morning the only way she knows how to go back to sleep is being bounced. NOT GOOD! So the easy way has actually begun to hurt her. She is often tired throughout the day because she doesn’t always go back to sleep. If she were going to sleep on her own then when she woke up she could go back to sleep on her own.
So back to my initial question…I think God knows that through our struggles or times of waiting we learn things that will help us in the next stage, trial or experience in our lives. So not giving us the easy way is just another one of His ways of loving us. I am so glad I am loved by my Heavenly Father.
Now must begin a new way of loving my daughter. Tonight we will begin going to sleep without bouncing. Pray for us please!