Weariness of Winter and Sin

I'm weary. 

There are some days I really question if having my kids in a public school is the right choice, but then I have to remind myself that this isn't my choice at all... it's Gods.  I know there are some who would say that's a cop out, but for our family it's really the truth.  I've said it before and you can read my story on the sidebar, but I didn't want my kids to attend a public school and I tried to chose a different path.  But God knew and knows what is best for our family and for now this is His choice and knowing that makes it easier to trust in His choice.

Maybe my weariness is the result of a very long Minnesota winter... we are more than halfway through the month of April and our weather forecast is predicting snow today, tomorrow and into Friday.  It won't be a blizzard, but the thought of more snow and colder weather is starting to wear on me.

Maybe it's the heaviness of sin that is causing me to feel the weight of weariness.  Yesterday afternoon was a particularly difficult day.  Both of my older kids came home and unloaded on me.  First of all, let me say that I am blessed to have kids that share with me the highs and lows of their lives.  I know for many parents it's like pulling teeth to get a word out of their child's mouth, so I'm not bemoaning the issue, it was just hard information to hear and bear with them.

Some background...

Up until very recently my daughter has been part of amazing group of friends.  I kid you not when I say that there were probably 8-10 girls that treated each other with kindness, there was no cattiness toward each other, and they seemed to care less about what was popular or in style.  I loved these friends and the relationships my daughter had formed with them... until recently.  I'm not sure if some troll enters the life of a 5th grade girl, but over the course of the last few months these girls have become just the opposite of everything they once were.  I'm baffled as to why they've changed... is this just what happens when a girl turns 11 or 12 years old?  My daughter is struggling right now because she doesn't like what is happening to this once amazing group of friends, it puts her in a difficult position to feel like she has to chose sides, etc.  I see her enjoying those friendships less and less but I'm beginning to see that God in His wisdom placed within my daughter's heart something that baffled me at the time. 

You see my daughter's school is part of 8 elementary district schools... most of them are "in town schools".  My daughter's is not.  All the "in town" schools have transitioned their 6th graders to one of the two middle schools, but the two rural school have chosen to keep the 6th graders on site.  This is where I see God's wisdom.  Back in January, my daughter asked if she could attend the middle school next year.  Both my husband and I questioned her because she would be moving on and NONE of her friends would be.  I was amazed at her courage to step out, but I was also wondering where this courage was coming from.  Now I see that God knew the best place for her next year would be in a different school and with a different set of friends.  It can only be the work of God because by human standards, back when we made the decision to allow her to move on to a different school, it seemed like a foolish one.  Now I'm rejoicing and thanking God that He worked in the heart of my daughter giving her the desire and courage to step out and be the "only one".

I love how God works!  He change the heart of a then 10 year old and gave her courage to go against the flow.  I am so very thankful I didn't put my foot down and squash something God wanted to do in her life.  He continually reminds me in His Word that He has made our children to do great things... they do not have to be 20, 25 or 30 years old before choosing to do what is right.  Be encouraged by the life of Josiah and take some time today to pray for your kids and what they may be facing in their school day.

Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father; and he did not turn aside to the right hand or to the left. For in the eighth year of his reign, *while he was yet a boy, he began to seek the God of David his father, and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of the high places, the Asherim, and the carved and the metal images.
Chronicles 34:1-3 ESV  (*Emphasis added)