If you’ve raised a tween (double-digits but not yet a teenager), you know the struggle is real. In addition to tween struggles, our younger two children settled into public school for the first time, and not one, but two new churches in the midst of a global pandemic. Our daughter, Marion, had to learn some hard lessons in the area of academics, friend groups, and being a “dog mom.”
Our entrance into parenting a tween girl has reminded me of Marion’s entrance into the world. Early in my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. My life became a series of finger sticks and insulin shots in the belly, visits to a variety of doctors, and a weekly moms support group in which we had to disclose what we ate to one another and have a dietician critique our choices. Our OB/Gyn, a diminutive Dr. Chia-Lien Wang, encouraged me by joking that babies with diabetic moms can have large shoulders, making delivery tough on both mom and baby. Because I am of German descent, Dr. Wang affectionately called our girl “Helga” and admonished me to make good choices so I wouldn’t give birth to the first female NFL linebacker. In spite of every precaution, when I begged Dr. Wang to allow me to have a natural childbirth, she handed me a sheet of paper with my surgery date. “Helga” would enter the world via C-Section.
Staring at a sheet on the operating table of the assigned day, the world slowed down due to drugs, I knew during the delivery that something wasn’t quite right. Joel says he heard Dr. Wang say the word, “Rigid” and everyone began to move at a fast speed. I learned later that the umbilical chord was wrapped several times around Marion Ruth’s neck, and if we had experienced a natural childbirth…well, there are some things you just can’t dwell upon. I held my baby girl, and then she was whisked off to the NICU because her blood sugar dipped. I didn’t see her again for 12 long hours.
Bad theology dictates that God gave me diabetes to save Marion’s life. While I don’t subscribe to that particular line of thinking, I no longer begrudge the needles, the support group, or even the C-section. I understand that God has an amazing plan for Marion Ruth’s life, but that doesn’t mean her entry into the world wasn’t difficult, or her entry into adolescence hasn’t been difficult. In fact, her transitions into the world and into the world of tweendom remind me that my girl is made of tough stuff. She is a Robbins. She is a survivor. If there is any scripture I would claim for her life, it would be:
“And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
- Romans 5:3-5 NRSV
Following Jesus doesn’t mean our life will turn out the way we expect, or free from difficulty. It does mean that God can turn our suffering to hope, and hope never disappoints.
Writing these devotions are assigned to the staff (seemingly) at random. We do not choose what day our devotion will run. I was assigned August 4, 2021, which also happens to be Marion’s 12th birthday.
Written By: Christie Robbins