Hard Things

“This country will not survive another generation of Christians that fit in.”

Josh Harris said it. His little brothers are spreading the message.

My husband picked up Do Hard Things at the library for me yesterday, and I’ve already read it cover to cover. Not that I’m biased towards homeschooling Oregonians, but those Harris brothers write good books. This book is subtitled “a teenage rebellion against low expectations.” And even though I’m much closer to a quarter of a century than to being a teenager, the message was hard-hitting for me, as well.

Counterculture. Rising above the norm. Doing hard things. The Harris twins share their eldest brother’s gift of using the written word to impassion others to go out and live life for the glory of God. Where Josh called teens (and adults) to a higher standard in romance and relationships, Alex and Brett are raising the bar all across the board.

“Being considered a good teen only requires that we don’t do bad stuff like taking drugs, drinking, and partying. But is it enough to be known for the negative things we don’t do, or should we also be known for the positive and difficult things that we do?” (pg. 97)

I know I linked to their “Rebelution” blog when I first heard about it. But I was busy wedding planning, then I became a farmer’s wife without internet, and was busy doing my own hard things: talking to customers (aka strangers), learning all about the vegetables and antiques we sold, trying to drive stick shift, and taking care of my husband when he broke his leg. Needless to say, I don’t think I’ve visited therebelution.com but once or twice since. But everyone was talking about their book, so I had to read it.

And I found that Alex and Brett put into words what I’d been feeling since I turned 13. They even used the YLCF’s theme verse, 1 Timothy 4:12.

But they got right down to the heart of the matter. It isn’t enough just to be better than average, just to be the one that everyone says is such a good girl. We can and should be doing more for Christ. That’s where the hard things come in.

The problem is, the guys made it clear that doing hard things doesn’t really stop with the teen years. Just because I started a teen magazine and worked in a political office when I was a teenager doesn’t let me off the hook.

Being a wife and mom involves a lot of the “small” hard things. Doing the dishes, picking up after your husband, coming up with a creative menu for dinner, walking a crying baby when you’re so tired you can hardly see straight.

But there are more hard things I could and should be doing: finding ways to work Christ into my everyday conversations with customers and finishing that stick shift driving lesson (we started that the day before Merritt broke his leg).

One of the closing illustrations in the Harris brothers’ book really summed up my life right now. 18-year-old Brittany Lewin wrote:

“‘As much as I love politics and campaigning, there is not a single political job I could find that would match the joy and satisfaction that comes from following God’s special call to be a dedicated wife and mother. Campaigns are won and lost; elections happen every year. I can only do so much by myself. What’s more inspiring to me is the thought of rebelutionaries across the world raising lots of counterculture, God-fearing, low-expectation-defying children who are constantly doing hard things for God’s glory.'” (pg. 198)

Just read my blog posts from four years ago. I was eating and breathing politics. But Brittany is so right. Nothing can match the precious tasks that fill my daily life right now: those of my job as wife and mom.

Politics is still important to me. Maybe even more so, because the political decisions affect our freedom to own our own home and homeschool our children. I’m sure I’ll have a political blog post or two this fall, and you can bet I’ll be discussing politics across the counter at our store. But most of my time is spent raising a little political activist (she just doesn’t know it yet).

I’m not a teenager with time for door-to-door campaigning or missions trips overseas right now. I’m a mom, trying to do the hard thing God calls all moms to: not just raising obedient children, but raising children who do hard things for the glory of God.

Read the book. Do hard things. And join the counterculture who’s raising another generation of Rebelutionaries.