she's been living it

She had her sleeves rolled up, carrying her jacket on her arm, and the pants of her legs cuffed high as she carried her book bag to the car. It was 54 degrees, and to this cold natured mama, I just don't get it.

Truth is, there's a lot I'm not getting lately. The headaches she's been experiencing. The difficulty demonstrating responsibility. The drop in grades, though not major, enough to cause us concern.

But as she opened the car door, now able to see her face instead of her fashion statement, her face beamed. She couldn't even get both legs inside before she said, "Mama, I got to tell "A" about Jesus today!". I could hear the excitement in her voice as much as I could read it on her face. She continued to tell me how she took her bible to recess to read it and how that opened up the opportunity for her and her friends to share Jesus with someone.

"She'd heard a little about Him, but mama, she didn't even know He was more important than the President!"

I couldn't help but laugh.

I was surprised she had her bible with her. See, she didn't make a grand announcement and want to receive any accolades for it...the evidence of her heart. So, I asked her, "What made you want to take your bible to school?"

And she sat on that question for a few seconds, weighing her thoughts and how to combine them to words.

"I have just felt like I was supposed to do that for a while. So I did."

Beth Moore tells us in the study of James that "The message of James can be captured in two words: LIVE IT."

And while we do this parenting thing, the hard parts where we wrestle with giving enough grace to a child {because her home life has changed drastically with now 2 special needs siblings} to helping her own her role of responsibility and not be the parents that enable, we are reminded.

She gets it.

She went against the flow of normal. She did the thing that made her feel uneasy and quite possibly different. She listened to the Holy Spirit. She was obedient to what mattered most. She shared with the girl who didn't have a friend, not just a conversation, but the news of a Savior. Then she gave her a gift, a bible.

And I'm so proud of this girl who is struggling. Because though she's struggling with things of this world, her message that day was captured in two words. She 's been living it.

~the reminder of what message I want to capture through my 9 year old
~the reminder that joy is my birthright
~the Christian who asked to know more about foster parenting
~living in the South in the winter
~an antibiotic that seems to be working
~Laurie Berkner songs to dance to
~the few hundred children's books we love to read together
~a friend who emails me to check on me
~coffee and my bible together
~securing the tickets and the hotel to our girls' getaway
~a Honey who encourages me