High School

“I see very clearly that God shows no favoritism. In every nation he [God] accepts those who fear him and do what is right. This is the message of the Good News for the people of Israel—that there is peace with God through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34a-36)

 

 Toward the end of the election I started getting stuck on talk radio and it’s still on my dial. After the fourth teen suicide at a local school an afternoon program spent days talking with school officials, the superintendent, parents, and students about what is going on in that school. The DJ and others really brought me back to high school in my mind. I think any adult who wants to go back and relive high school is crazy. Even for the most successful student it could have been very rough. The peer pressure, the drama, the clicks, the expectations and the rejection of those crazy teenage years is not something I would want to revisit any time soon or at all.

 

As adults we need to remember how hard we worked in school. Not only did we go to school for eight hours but we brought home homework and by the crazy teen years we were either working or spending hours after school working out for sports (which, of course, was before or after a couples hours worth of homework). Gosh! Can you imagine that now?!? And to top that off teenagers are full of hormones, think they know everything, and every emotion and situation is intensified 100 times over again from what it really may be. We keep telling our children to just wait until they are adults and life gets really tough. I don’t know. Maybe adulthood is a reprieve from those teenage years.

 

What can we do? We can listen. We can offer an ear or a shoulder for the youth in our lives. We can live by example and be the mentors they need. We can be leaders in youth programs and we can pray. We can live our faith with our children and we can discipline them to teach them accountability and consequences. We can stay involved in our community and church so that are children are constantly surrounded by good example. We can ask our kids about their day, who they are hanging out with, and if they need any help. There is so much we can do but the one thing we can’t do is turn a blind eye. We cannot just assume our children are making the right choices. We have to stay involved. We have to stay connected. Our kids don’t need us any less just because they are older and independent. In some cases they may need us more. I need God in my life everyday and I need Him to walk with me, talk with me, correct me, comfort me, and lead me. If we are supposed to be like God should we do any less than He does for us?

 

“And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including new bodies he has promised us.” (Romans 8:23)

He Can Be Just Like Me

“She must be well respected by everyone because of the good she has done. Has she brought up her children well? Has she been kind to strangers and served other believers humbly? Has she helped those who are in trouble? Has she always been ready to do good?” (1 Timothy 5:10)

 

I am experiencing a slight occurrence of attention deficit this morning. I had thought of something to write about as I lay in bed this morning waiting for the alarm to go off. By the time I got downstairs the thought had totally eluded me. As I was reading Ezekiel a little while ago I came across an amazing verse that I thought would make a great story but I put down my Bible, walked my cold feet to the hot coffee and my writing subject plagued me every step of the way: a 12 year old young man.

 

So far this morning, in a matter of approximately 5-10 minutes we have talked about homework, hot lunch, cleaning the house, graded school work, movies, dinner, tomorrow’s breakfast, hygiene, and Saturday night. Any of my closest friends will know that covering that much subject matter in a small space of time is of little challenge to me. It’s no wonder that my son and I can pace each other so well and at such an early hour in the morning. We are extremely similar to one another and sometimes that is good and sometimes it makes me cringe.

 

Sometimes my 12 year old will say something or do something that gives me flashbacks to when I was younger and I was not a very good little girl. I was spoiled, did what ever I wanted no matter whom it may hurt, and I thought the world revolved around me. So, when I see the similarities I get a little scared. However, this young man has something that I didn’t have: faith.

 

If you were to ask Him the way to Heaven, he would tell you: only through Jesus. If you were to ask him if liked church he would look at you funny and say, “yeah, why” (like you were an idiot).  If there is an occasion that he may miss youth group there is a panicked look on his face and he bravely fights back tears. Through Greg and I, our friends, our immediate family, our family of faith, great leaders, strong youth programs, and a lot of prayers has been given a strong foundation that will hopefully guide him on his journey through life.

 

Yes, my son is just like me. My parents remind me often of that fact. But I can honestly say, with my big-grown-up voice, that it’s okay. We enjoy each other a lot, we understand each other, and we can read each other pretty well. Even when my son makes his mistakes in life I will continue to love him and pray for him. At the end of a bad day, when my son reaches out for my hand and asks if I want him to pray with me, I can still smile and thank God for sending him to me because I am pretty sure that when a little seven pound 1/2 ounce baby boy was given to me the rest of my life was changed forever. (oh, and he was born at 4:42 am….maybe we are just morning people)

 

“I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.  For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return.  May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

Good Old One-Eye

“No one really knows what is going to happen; no one can predict the future.” (Ecclesiastes 10:14b)

 

When I woke up yesterday morning I would have never imagined that my day would end trying to play softball with only one good eye. Sure, I was advised to be careful or not play at all. My sister told me that I would be just fine since she has played ball before and she has almost no depth perception. So, I did play.  I played with a white bandage over my left eye through two games in a heat index of over 100 degrees. Oh yes, I looked and felt ever so special and my team had a lot of fun at my expense….all in love and fun, of course.

 

Let me back up. I have a scratch on my retina (I think that is what it is). I was in a lower cabinet and a cord was hanging from an upper cabinet and I hit the cord and the plug part hit my eye. I went down hard and then, later, felt like a baby for going to the doctor but I was worried I wouldn’t be able to play our last games of the season. I practiced playing catch to make sure I could see and I felt confident that I was good to go….regardless if no one else did. Truly, everything went fine. It was hard for me to see action on my left side but we worked it through and actually won our first game of the season. The team thinks I should play with one-eye more often.

 

As I was sitting there with my husband debating going to the doctor he made some extremely good points. Because of someone’s carelessness, not putting the toaster away right, our whole team could have been affected. If I couldn’t have played we would have had to take a drop out because we would not have had enough girls. And that sucks but how often in life does that happen? Very rarely do our mistakes, bad judgments, or close calls affect only us. Because we do not live in a world by ourselves even our accidents have consequences that go far beyond the reach of our own arm. Every single step we make is going to affect someone else. We need to be careful of our foot placement and realize that, when making decisions, it’s not all about us.

 

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good.  At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessings if we don’t give up.” (Galatians 6:9)

Kids are so Lucky

Suppose a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or mother, even though they discipline him. In such a case, the father and mother must take the son to the elders as they hold court at the town gate. The parents must say to the elders, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious and refuses to obey. He is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of his town must stone him to death. In this way, you will purge this evil from among you, and all Israel will hear about it and be afraid.” (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)

 

Reading those verses my eyes got big and I thought about how many of us would be without children had we lived in the days of Moses. I mean, almost any time you read about taking something to the town gate to hold court in the Old Testament you can just as often guarantee that someone or something was going to get stoned. But, I think there is one thing parents can take from passages like these and that is that you are not alone. An entire village was there to take care of business over 2000 years ago and you have an entire village to help take care of business today. It’s just that “business” has evolved over time.

 

Within our church family at Oakwood we have teachers, leaders, encouragers, mentors, and role models. Hopefully all churches have these kinds of people. Not only can we get advice from each other but we can learn from each other and we can listen to each other. Because of the people in my village I know that my kids are normal and I get ideas and direction when we hit stumbling blocks. And because of the people in my village my children have excellent role models and mentors in their life helping guide them on their faith journey.

 

We are not alone in anything. When you are part of a strong Christian church you have the love of God surrounding you through all the gifts, talents, and experiences of your brother and sisters in Christ. Find the blessing of a church family and you will not find an easy ride through life, but you will find the tools you need to take on the journey. And love on your children when they are naughty and when they are nice. They need to know that you love them and that every day is a new day to start again.

 

“Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes not only me but also my Father who sent me.” (Mark 9:37)