A few nights ago my husband and I were discussing an issue facing one of our children. It involves his strong personality and the way he interacts with other kids. The purpose of our conversation was really to decide what we should/could be 'doing' to address this trait. Ultimately, we decided that for the time being the best thing we could do is back off and let it work itself out.
For two very type A people that was a big decision.
As we were talking through it, my husband related it to his job. More often than not, when people show up in his office they are somewhat geared up to have an exam and schedule surgery. He admits the hardest part of his job is NOT operating. In many cases the prudent decision is to try other less invasive options--to give things time to settle down and work themselves out--not just rush into the OR and 'handle it.'
It really resonated with me when he said it--and I have thought about it a lot since then. My tendency is to want to DO something. I want a plan of attack, a strategy--something I can spell out as my way of handling a particular challenge especially in parenting.
It takes self control to do what is frequently the hardest thing--wait and watch and pray for not only the clear direction to move but peace about the timing to do so as well.
This do-er loves the reminder to 'be still and know' He is God. I am reminded of a great twist on an old adage that we often need to remember: Don't just do something. Stand there.
4 comments:
Hi There,
Sorry this is not at all relevant to your most recent post, but I have to thank you!
I remember your mentioning Young Life many times throughout your blog history (which I have read so much of ... I searched triplet moms for a friend who had just had hers several years ago and found your miraculous survival story so compelling that I could not stop reading.)
ANYWAY ... I remember your wonderful feelings of Young Life and when my daughter (a junior in high school) asked if she could go to the meetings last spring, I was thrilled for her to go. She called me the night of her first meeting and said that the deposit for camp was due that week and she really wanted to go. I am a newly single mom learning an entirely new budget and the thought of spending so much money for her to go to camp was scary. However, I remembered your wonderful experiences and decided to let her go. I cannot tell you how thrilled I am that I did. She obviously had so much fun and loved it, but she had been having some fear issues that had really begun to shake her faith. In a nutshell, she thought that since she was praying to God to take away her fears and she was still scared, that she may not be a Christian and may be going to Hell. Of course, that brought up a whole new set of fears.
I had been praying for and with her and consulting friends with more knowledge to talk to her, but nothing was really helping until Young Life camp. The talks there as well as time spent wit her counselors have really helped her. She has always been such a happy girl, but she now just has a peace about her. And most importantly, she now knows that she is a Christian and she's going to Heaven! BIG PRAISE!!
But, I would not have been so comfortable about letting her go and making that financial sacrifice without your ringing endorsement, so THANK YOU!!
Leah Wheeler
Leah!!! What a complete blessing this was to read. I am soooooo grateful God used this little blog to get your daughter to a life/heart changing experience at camp!!!! Praise to Him. Thanks so much for letting me know.
Leah, thank you for sharing your story here. We can all learn so much from each other. Your daughter sounds like an awesome young lady-I know you must be proud of her. Thank you too, JMom, for being a vessel.
Loved this post!! It seemed to speak to me as I have been wrestling an issue with my middle child. God definitely used this timely post to tell me to back off a little. Thanks for taking time to post...I always look forward to your writing!!
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