CELEBRATE THE PROGRESS

I am so excited.  God has blessed me with a glimpse of the end. For some time now, I have been doing all that I can to keep the vision of my life and that of my family at the forefront of my thoughts.  I have been holding on in particular to those regarding my son.  He is my only child and at 17 going on 18, he may be the only one this womb of mine will deliver.  (I am not ruling out other possibilities when I am married). 

Well, I was blessed to have met a man by the name of Gary Durrant.  He is my sister’s best friend, although he is not aware of that particular relationship – yet.  She is the champion of walking by faith and not by sight.  I digress, he, Gary, has been an answer to my prayer.  God sent me some help that I so desperately needed.  Gary runs a programme that uses sport, in particular basketball, to give young people an opportunity to see their own self-worth.  He mentors them, but also layers his programme so that they also have an opportunity to mentor and encourage others. 

My son has gone on one of the camp that he runs and already I can see the difference.  It is not only through the lens of faith, but my actual eyes that see.  I feel like saying “I see you”, just like in the Avatar movie.  The reports that have been coming in are all raving and a supply of pride and joy for me and not in the least bit a surprise.

 Moms and Dads you can relate to this.  You knew all along the potential of your child.  You knew that if he tried something he would succeed.  You knew your child and finally everyone else knows.  Your child is not a failure but a success.  It doesn’t matter that he is not moving along with the class of fish he started off with, because he is moving; at his own pace and in the right direction.  Yes, this mom is a proud mom.  I am proud of the progress.  I am proud of the step forward he has taken. 

Before I heard all of this, I was planning to take the advice I heard on the Focus on the Family segment last night.  The guest speaker was talking about raising children and he mentioned about paying attention to what they are doing right.  It may be that your kid doesn’t clean up their room. It may be that they are not attending church every Sunday morning.  It may be that they are not doing their excellent best in school. It may be a hundred things wrong and more.  However, we need to focus on the good things.  They may do all of that but they have a heart that cares not just about their own interest but others.  They may shine in how they show compassion. They may attend all the youth services and events at church.  They may be brilliant in the arts and a great athlete.  They may be a leader and great mentor to younger kids or a thousand other things right.  Celebrate the progress.  Give most of your attention to that and less on the things that are wrong.

 No, no, he was not advocating a lack of discipline, but he suggested that you choose your battles.  So what if he wants to wear his hair in braids?  Why not let him?  (I must confess that I am not a fan of braids, earrings, piercings or tattoos and have had “discussions” about them with my man child prior to this posting).  Weigh things out and then decide on the course of action.  He did say that the curfew battle is one to take on earlier rather than later, just in case you ever wondered.

I really want to say one thing, keep focused on the vision God has given you for yourself and others related to you.  As the substance of things hoped for become the evidence of things seen, and unseen – keep the vision.