Morgan is a typical teenager in many respects. He has a passion for sports, a wicked sense of humor, and the usual teenage angst when it comes to matters of dealing with girls.
But in one regard he’s different from many teens. Morgan’s mom, formerly a high-energy mover like her son, has spent the last year crippled by pain. Her time has been spent in doctor’s offices, hospitals, and lying on the couch trying to cope with the unrelenting discomfort she faces.
In addition to pain, she carries the additional burden of knowing how her health impacts her son’s quality of life. Instead of hiking with his mom, Morgan tries to help out however he can. Rather than attending ballgames together, he accompanies her to physician’s offices.
In her frustration, she recently asked him: "Is my suffering producing anything good in you?" This insightful young man thought for a while and came back with an answer that stunned her. “Maybe I’m learning something about hope.”
So instead of having fun with his mom for this limited period of time, he’s building a sense of purpose in suffering, learning to have hope for a better day as he lives through ones that aren’t so great with his mom.
Most parents would choose for their children’s paths to be smooth and pleasant. We long for them to have happy days and easy nights. And yet when we’re there to walk beside them, their experiences of hardship may be teaching them the most valuable lessons.
The Centers for Disease Control have studied the impact of stress on developing kids, and what they’ve found is that when children have the support of loving adults in their lives, the effects of stress do not harm their development. Rather, the presence of a loving adult as a child faces stressful situations seems to teach a kind of resilience kids can’t learn in the shallows of happiness.
So even though she wishes she could spare him these tough lessons, Morgan’s mom’s grateful for the learning they’re yielding him. Having also embraced the possibility of hope, she knows their trips to the ballparks will return one day soon. But she’s grateful right now for the lessons of adversity that seem to be building strength in her son.
