It's not easy to see them stumble and fall, to be disappointed, to learn that things don't always go as planned.
It's not easy to help them process their feelings as we try to process our own.
It's not easy to give them wings.
We want to protect them, pick them up, keep them from falling in the first place.
Yet, that isn't our job.
We are to guide them through the hard stuff, not protect them from ever encountering it.
We are to love them and support them as they fumble and find their path in life, not push them through the path we set for them.
We are to teach them along the way, and help them learn to think for themselves not coddle them into being adults that follow like sheep to the slaughter.
It's beautiful to watch them stretch and grow.
It's painful to see them fall and struggle.
It's humbling to see them learn to think outside the box and to accept that it's okay that they think differently than their parents.
It's encouraging to see them make progress.
It's heartbreaking to see them sometimes disappointed and crushed.
It's amazing to see them learn and push through some tough things to become better people and to find victory in big and small things.
This past week was one of those hard times for us. Rocklin took a fall last Sunday and injured his knee. In an instant his hopes of playing in the season opener for football were dashed. It was very hard to watch from the sidelines yesterday.
Realizing after a full week things don't seem to be any better at all is hard as well. It means missing the second game of the season is much more likely than he wants to admit.
Yet, it's also had some beautiful moments.
Being a boy of few words, this opened up the opportunity for an amazing conversation about disappointment, trust and making lemonade out of lemons.
He has endured a bit of teasing, last year and the beginning of this year. Nothing major, but pushing the bounds of good naturedness. His dedication to and support of his team despite his injury earned him some respect. The teasing became much more goodnatured, the "boys will be boys" type. With that change has come change for him too. Little bit, by ever so tiny little bit he's coming out of his shell. A smile and chuckle where there once was a blank stare. A nod of the head where there once was a quick look at the ground. A quiet, short answer where there once was silence.
He's learning that while we cannot control everything that happens to us, we can control how we respond to it.
He's learning to be thankful in all things. To change his perspective. He realizes there are many reasons football could be a dream not realized and that his dream is temporarily deferred, not permanently impossible.
He's grasping that while we can't always understand our circumstances, we can always trust our loving God in the midst of them.
I'm learning something too here.
I'm learning that while in the moment I want to keep him from falling,struggling, being disappointed that's not really what I want in the end at all.
In the end, I want him to see failure as opportunity to learn. To see struggles as a refining fire to strengthen him. To find joy, true joy, not just happiness and to realize that true joy will carry him through disappointment. I want him to trust and know that God cares not just about the big things, but the small things too.
I think this week has shown me that he's further on that path than I thought and that I am too.
you've got one strong, inspiring young man there, friend. at first i was so sad to read that he was sidelined because of injury. but what an example he is for me! he is grasping Truths at his young age that i have been struggling all my life to get. thank God for His teaching in all of this. i pray many more blessings will come through this, and that he will heal fast.
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