I'm glad your kid is not perfect

This afternoon I was talking with a friend who has a daughter five months younger than Elisabeth. I explained that I had put Elisabeth in the Wanderer (backpack) to take a nap while I went for a hike, since she refused to go down quietly in the pack'n'play at Pop-pop's house.

My friend answered this way: "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad your kid is not perfect."

I understood immediately. There is a wonderful freedom in transparency among friends. My friend wasn't delighting in my trials, he was being assured that we really live in the same world. We realize that we all struggle with similar things (or different things, but the point is that we all struggle). In fact, I would say that true friendship only exists where there is this kind of transparency - not reveling in our own or others' problems, but recognizing our shared need for Christ and His grace.