Friday, March 24, 2017

My husband wondered from my post yesterday why I put the thermometer in Samuel's mouth in the first place. He noted that he was big enough to put it in his mouth by himself 😆. He obviously missed the point of my post 😏.

Today was parent teacher conference for the kids so we were able to sleep in a little bit and then headed to school for a short while. Samuel and Emma are doing amazing. All "A's"  for the semester and just doing well all around. Chloe had a little bit harder quarter and had mostly "B's" and a "C". We are going to have a more detailed conference with her teacher when Jeremy and I can both attend. I am so proud of all three of them and it's hard to believe that we only have one quarter left to go before school is out for summer. In between the girls and Samuel's conference, there was a preschool conference that needed to be done with one of our students that has had some struggles. We met with the mom and just shared some things that we were seeing in class and I could see the tears start to form in her eyes. I then heard her words that echoed my very words in so many conferences over the years with Chloe. As tears fell from her cheeks, they fell from mine as well. I knew this momma's pain. That pain was feeling like you have done everything to help them make better choices and you don't have any more ideas. That pain of feeling like things are getting better and , BAM, you are having the same conversations again without any clear idea why the behavior started again. She made the comment about how her child had been doing better at home so it is a shock to hear of their behavior at school. I know those feelings of being encouraged because you see progress at home, but dread picking your child up from school because it will be discouraging news from the teacher. I have been very transparent about our struggle with Chloe. It was in this meeting today that the Lord whispered to me, "This is why I have you on this journey with Chloe. You are in a position to bring hope to these parents." I know this family does not claim to be Christians, and I was able to share our brokenness and give a glimmer of hope for their child. I was able to share my own journey of trusting the Lord ,the One who created our children and loves them even more than we do. It was a good reminder that the things we see as struggles and brokenness God sees them as opportunities to make Him known. 

As I think about my kids and my students, I think about my own identity struggles as an adult. The label that I have put on myself started years ago as a young girl. Things that were said to me and about me as a girl still find their way into my view of who I am. It doesn't matter how skinny I were to ever be, I would still see myself as fat. No matter how great I am at something I would still feel like I was lacking. I have a crazy complex about my forehead. I guess at some point in my life someone make fun of my forehead (I have a freakishly small forehead) and so I refuse to show my forehead. I have bangs. I have always had bangs and I will forever have bangs. Because my forehead is so small it's not that my bangs are too long, it's just my forehead is really close to my eyes. Last week someone made a comment to my daughter who had just got her hair cut that she wished her mom would cut her hair so she could see my face, WHAAT? It was silly, I should have laughed it off, but I was offended because some of that madness is wrapped up in my identity. If you think about it, we all have those "things" that just get to us. We all have believed these lies that our worth, our identity is somehow wrapped up in the opinion of others. I read the quote below this morning and it spoke volumes to me. At the end of the day it doesn't matter is someone thinks you are dumb, ugly, fat, or have a small forehead. It also doesn't matter if you are a super model with your life all together. At the end of the day, at the end of our life, everything we are hinges on the fact that we are "radically loved" by the Creator of life. We are found worthy and accepted because of Jesus and we can rest in the beauty of that fact. 

Waiting to see their teachers. Real life right here folks.