Field Day

Today was field day for my daughter's school. Kindergartners through 5th graders were throwing frisbees, jumping rope and playing leap frog. We had a blast. I had a few moments to speak to my daughter's teacher out on the field. My daughter won an award in her class called the Timothy award. The teacher reiterated what an amazing award it was. The students all vote for 1 student in their class who most exemplifies Christ. WOW! Somebody asked me how a girl could win an award like that with parents like us?!! My thoughts exactly! I cried as I drove home today. I feel like I fall short in so many ways as a parent. How could I actually take any responsibility for my daughter acting like Christ when she doesn't always see her mommy acting like Christ?!! The answer?? GOD'S AMAZING GRACE!!!!

The other thing I realized while talking to my daughter's teacher is that we need to pray about every thought that comes to our minds. I have had a thought come into my mind over and over again and I did not know whether or not it was God. I mentioned the thought to my daughter's teacher. Her response was actually the opposite of what I was expecting her to say.

For so many years of my life I have done things as I thought others would approve of. I have found myself faced with some new decisions that I am praying through and my response to these issues is probably going to go against what some in my life would approve of. How difficult it seems some times to swim upstream. I got the pleasure of watching Salmon swim upstream in Bellingham, Washington where we used to live. It was an amazing thing to watch and a beautiful thing all at the same time. Those salmon never gave up jumping upstream. In fact some actually travel up to 1,000 miles upstream to spawn!! Their whole life cycle would be interrupted if they decided just to swim around in a cozy spot for their whole lives!! It is no different with us, other than the obvious swimming upstream to spawn :)! We can choose to swim around in a comfy spot or we can head out into the deep upstream in order to see God do amazing things through us.

I think we all come to spots along the road where we can decide to mature or remain the same. My prayer is that I will keep my focus on Elohim, the amazing creative God, who created me in His image!! and prepared things in advance for me to walk in. I want to walk the path He has intended, not the road most travelled. Robert Frost in his famous poem said that he "took the [road] less travelled by/ And that has made all the difference." Some people think the road less travelled is a bad thing. Not so. It is the brave thing.