Life's Lessons

I'm so behind on my updates. And there is so much to tell! So, I've decided to start with the most recent and move backward. :)

Poor Mark had a tough day yesterday. He came home from play practice very discouraged. He said that the cast had practiced the song where he is the featured soloist. And he had trouble hitting any notes. The song sounded sloppy, and he was corrected frequently by his director. Then, some of the other kids made comments to him like, "Why did you sing so bad?" and "Why were you so off key?" Mark described it to me as, "they were making fun of me." But I understand it to be 'kids being kids.' They speak before thinking about how their comments may hurt someone else. I told him that, and I tried to encourage him to put this day behind him and just focus on practicing his song more intensely. That seemed to help.

Then, just before bed, he seemed discouraged yet again. As I tucked the boys into bed, I asked Mark what was wrong? After a little bit of prodding, he finally opened up to me and told me that it's been hard adjusting to public school. I asked him specifically how? He said he has made plenty of friends, but it's embarassing when kids leave him out of certain joking or conversation because "he's a Christian and won't understand what they are talking about." He feels like he is treated like a baby, just because he is a Christian and has come from Christian school. I encouraged him that he has obviously done a great job at taking a stand on issues. And the fact that they know his morals is a great sign that he is living how he should. I reminded him that we are to be set apart. We are 'aliens' in this world. I explained that all these different interactions are teaching him how to live as a Christian in a worldly environment.

He said, he would rather just go back to Christian school. But after I explained that Christian school is just a 'safe zone' and he needs to learn how to survive in the real world, he really understood why it's important for him to be among non-believers. I used the butterfly as an example. When the caterpillar enters the cacoon, it is in a safe zone. But it cannot stay there forever. In order to fulfill it's destiny, it has to push its way out into the real world. It's a painful process. But without the struggle of pushing its way out of the cacoon walls, the wings would not gain enough strength to fly! It's the same way in life. We HAVE to go through hard, uncomfortable situations in order to learn and grow and be strong enough to be who God wants us to be in life. Even in this situation, feeling persecuted by kids who don't understand his faith, Mark is learning how to stand strong. I reminded him to pray for wisdom right in the midst of those circumstances.

Then I shared a few instances where I struggled in my younger years. And it wasn't til years later that I realized, "Wow, Lord, you really used that to teach me and strengthen me...and you never left my side!" Lastly, I told him that I now live my life remembering those tough times. And I stand firmly knowing that the same God I saw at work in previous situations is the very same God that will help me through tomorrow.

I love how he totally understood and accepted what I was saying. I can't believe my little boy is now facing life on his own! He's having to learn for himself how to rely on God for wisdom. And he's having to stretch his wings little by little. God, please continue to give us wisdom as we lead and shape our kids!!! Amen!