Intercession

We can take steps to prevent many things.  Medicines to prevent ulcers from forming or heart medications to ward off heart attacks, pills to control high blood pressure.  If we are wise we do what we can to prevent illness. 

Yet we often fail to do the very best thing we can do.  We talk to doctors.  We google and read everything we can to educate ourselves on our problem.  Then we fail to talk to the One who created us in the first place, neglecting to pick up the written Word of God, giving Him our ear and an opportunity to come to our rescue. 



My heart is heavy and my mind wrestling with the struggles Jett and his parents are having with his schooling.  Morgan had to pick him up again this week because his behavior was unsatisfactory. 

Much conversation has gone on about the situation.  Many words have been spoken, and written.  I sit here in my sleeplessness writing even more of them!

As I try always to do, I look for where God has been faithful to us.  There is plenty.  Then I look for where I might not be faithful.  Plenty of that too. 

I have prayed long and hard for this child.  But I confess, I have failed to continue except for those prayers said in thanksgiving each time I see him.  These issues at school are huge to his mother.  But I think they are a training ground for life.  How he learns to cope will BE how he copes.  And his mommie can't come remove him from the situations he will face when he is older.


Just this week I had an opportunity to pray with someone about some things.  The very next day that same person shared how God was moving in answer to those prayers. 

God listens.  And God acts.  Why do I fail to talk to Him?  FIRST. 

So tonight, I purpose to refocus,  I purpose to talk to God more about it than I talk to people. But as I did when Jett was fighting for his life, I do now.  I call our prayer warriors.  I believe intercessory prayer is for ALL believers, but I also believe there are some of us who have been called to it in a little different way.  

Pray with me for every member of the school personnel.  Every person who meets Jett from the secretary, the maintenance, the principle, the superintendent, the lunch staff, and especially Jett's teacher. Pray God will give wisdom, and patience.  I boldly ask God to give his teacher clear understanding of how to communicate with Jett, and how to successfully guide him as he learns to cope with his frustrations. 

Pray with me for Jett.  He is a very quick minded, smart little boy. God has given him back to us with these few obstacles to overcome.  Pray that God will give this child patience, with himself, and with others.  

Pray for Morgan and Matt, and for Elizabeth and Jason.  Pray they will not react, but be prayerful FIRST, in every situation that arises with Jett, now and in all the days to come. This child is so cherished, by all of us.  We have made many promises, committed to taking care of this little boy God have given back to us.  Give all of us wisdom in HOW to do that. 

I prayed over and over that God would grant Jett life with nothing lacking.  Seems he might have a little patience lacking!  But how many 4 year old little boys have a whole lot of patience?! 

Black

It is been many years since I had young children in school.  I don't speak the current language of school work and class discipline.  Evidently, there is a system in place where goals are set for behavior, when it is not good, a color coded card is used to call attention to the unacceptable behavior. 

It is a good thing to have a green card. 
It is a very bad thing to have a black card, bad enough that you are removed from the classroom.

Certainly, discipline is necessary, for lots of reasons.  All school children must learn what behavior is ok and what is not.  Children learn the hard way sometimes, pushing the boundaries and breaking the rules, while others watch in confusion or disbelief and decide to just abide by the rules and save themselves from the aftermath of disobedience. 

Jett's brain has been affected in the area that houses emotion.  The bullet fragments that remain are monitored as the doctors watch to see that they do not begin to migrate. 

It is easy to see the effects caused by the injury to other parts of his brain. The paralysis he has is a direct result and can be seen, though it doesn't slow him down much.

But it is very hard to know what is a direct result in his emotions.  Nobody wants to give him a pass on bratty behavior.  At the same time, nobody wants to punish him severely for something he is still learning to process and deal with.

Spanking him would not have helped him hold his own head up, would not have helped him learn to walk again.  It took hours upon hours of one on one therapy, hands that helped him when his own muscles could not. 

But again, we could SEE that.

We can't see the emotions behind the outbursts that result in unacceptable behavior, but whatever the cause, he has to learn...SOMEHOW...to channel and control his frustration, anger, and disappointment. Just spanking him is not going to do the trick, no more than spanking him would make him walk again.  (...though he does get spankings!)



I walked into the salon yesterday to find him on the floor just inside the door with a big toy boat.  He leaped to his feet and yelled, "Aunt Connie!  YAY!!  Aunt Connie is here!!"  His emotions just bubbling all over the place.  He grabbed me, hugged me, and wanted to play hide and seek.  (...he saw hiding places galore in all those racks of clothes!!)

When I said no hide and seek, he began to reason it out, negotiating with me.  He may have some issues at school, but learning is not one of them.  He is a very smart little boy.  He saw absolutely no reason for me not to play hide and seek, using all his intelligence AND his charm trying to win me over to his side! He is an incredible negotiator at 4 years old!

As I prayerfully think about Jett and his parents, all the obstacles there are to maneuver, I again look back and see from where they have come.  And I also think about how I have been disciplined.

When my behavior is not Christlike, God doesn't pull my green card and replace it with a blue one, or yellow, and he doesn't issue a black card and send me home.  But He is not pleased.

He may send punishment to bring me back to Him.  He absolutely allows the consequences of my disobedience, and most often those consequences are painful.  When the ordeal is behind me, usually I can be very thankful that He loved me enough to do whatever it takes to keep me in His will. 

When Jett goes to school tomorrow, it is a new day. A fresh opportunity to conform to expected behavior.

Pray for this little boy, that Jesus will continue to walk with him, that he can process these outbursts and negotiate and reason thru them like he does with his Aunt Connie.  Pray that Jett will understand what is happening BEFORE he reacts in unsatisfactory behavior.

How thankful I am that God continues to give new days.  Our sincere repentance is never refused, He welcomes us back into fellowship with Him.




One day, there will be no more chances.  Ever. 

What if

What if ____________? 

Aren't there a million things you have put in that blank?  The what-ifs haunt us sometimes don't they?  Even at my age, I can get caught up in them, rolling a self produced movie thru my head playing out the scenarios.  It is rarely productive.  In fact, never productive except to learn from the mistakes I have made. 

But God did this:  __________________.

Because of this:    _______________,      this happened:________________.

Filling in those kind of blanks might be productive. 

I like looking for the Fingerprints of God on the past.  Seeing the evidence of where He has been, how He has acted, and where He has led reminds me in the present moment that He is in fact STILL God.  He was able then, and He is able now.  Even though I don't know what it looks like yet, His Hand is present. 

I have watched Morgan battle the what if scenarios on many occasions.  We have an enemy who purposes "...to steal and kill and destroy..."(John 10:10 NASB)  That devil "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. " (1 Peter 5:8 NASB)

But He only prowls LIKE a lion.  He is NOT a lion.

"...the devil...was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies." (John 8:44 NASB)

Our enemy has no honorable rules of engagement in this battle we are in.  There is no sacred ground, he will attack absolutely any way he has opportunity, as long as God allows it. (...which is why we pray for God's protection against the evil one.)

Sometimes God does allow.  That is a hard truth, but He has promised that there is ALWAYS help. 

"No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13 NASB) 

What if Eve had talked to Adam before making that decision to pick that fruit?

What if Adam had refused to participate?

What if Noah had quit before he got the ark finished?  Gave in to peer pressure and ridicule?

What if Job had cursed God and died, like his wife suggested? 


Poor Job.  I want to hug his neck when I get to heaven.  He had no idea the spiritual battle he was in.  He didn't know his story would be read down thru the ages.  He didn't know he would help me work thru so many difficulties over and over again.  He didn't know his name and life's story would be written in the pages of holy scripture. 




What might God be doing in our struggle?  What might God accomplish thru our own story, things that we may never even know about in our lifetime?

What if Jett hadn't been hurt?  We will never know that. 

What if God had not intervened?  We will never know that either. 

Hallelujah

Called

Like most children in our culture, Jett started attending public school this year in the pre-K 4 year old class at a small school nearby.  Morgan still battles anxiety when he is out of her immediate supervision, after all, she has learned by tragic experience what can happen when he is even a few feet away, much less miles away. Even her eyes can not keep him safe, it is very hard to trust someone else's eyes. 

He shed a few tears in the beginning, most likely in response to his mother's anxiousness.  I think children pick up on that, just my opinion.  After he had been there a few days, he leaped out of the car bidding his mommy to have a good day, and off he went. 

Then the calls began. 

He pushed.
He hit.
He refused to...

Like most of us moms, Morgan had a full gamut of emotional responses to those calls.  She felt like she should 'fix' it somehow.  Sitting in the school office with the heads of the school, I would bet she felt like it was HER sitting in the principle's office having erred in some way.  Maybe not...but I would have. 

I remember going into similar tail spins with raising my boys.  Somewhere along the way, I learned to trust God with them.  Do not misunderstand, parents have responsibilities in teaching our children. We all know the verse, "Train up a child in the way he should go, Even when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6 NASB)

 It isn't just a matter of teaching our kids the rules.  Even though it IS important to understand that God has a way that is right, there IS absolute truth, and it is HIM that decides. 

Teaching the rules is important.  And maybe some of us just say " Oh!  OK....if that's the rule, then I will abide by it and never question or break it."  Hummmphh!  If you're that person, you'd be the first since Jesus. 

I have been a rule keeper most of my life.  Not a perfect rule keeper, don't get the wrong idea.  But, my boundaries have always been pretty tight, and I did very little to push them. (....for whatever specific reason, but that's another story...)

I have some experience with raising a child that pushed boundaries. Every. Single. One. Had I a way to do it over, with all the knowledge I have, I am not sure anything would be different because it is who he is.  He is NOT me. 

Jett may have some qualities from his mother, but in general, he is not like her.  He is different, and even more so from the trauma his brain has been thru.  Pray that she will have wisdom beyond her years as she trains up this child in the way he should go, so that when he is old, he will remember and stay on the pathway he should be on.

It will not be a perfect path.  We all get off track.  The important thing is to face that truth and turn back to the right path.  It is called repentance.  Is is necessary and often helpful to be called on our veering off the right path. 

When Jett gets off the way he should go, Morgan or Matt often get a call.  The calls are not pleasant.

No more pleasant than the pricking of the Holy Spirit when you and I are called on our attitudes and behavior.  Even Paul the apostle was apt to be a hard discipline case. "...Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads." (Acts 26:14 NASB) 

(A goad was something they hooked up to a team of work animals.  If the animals kicked against their harness, as they are prone to do, it was something that was positioned for their feet to hit and discouraged them from kicking.)

Our Father is so gracious with us, especially when we choose to be easily taught, easily corrected, easily reprimanded, easily disciplined.  He is perfect.  His love is perfect. 

We simply are not.  None of us.  Not Jett.  Not his parents.  Not the school faculty. 

May we all be as kind and patient as our Lord is.

THAT is called a very tall order. 

Filtered.

Scripture often admonishes us to be careful how we hear.  In Luke 8:18, Jesus Himself tells his disciples to  "...take care how you listen;" 

My husband has taken a lot of statements in his career as a police officer.  People who are talking about the same thing, don't always say the same things. We sometimes hear what we expect, filtering thru emotion. You may have seen a very angry and dangerous man, while I may have seen a frustrated but harmless man begging for help thru his actions if not his words. 

Now Jesus was teaching a very different and particular lesson, and I have studied it more than once, but the words 'be careful how you hear' have stuck way down deep within me.

Do I filter my hearing thru faith or fear?  What I hear then begins to be what I think.  I must be aware of HOW I hear, that I am hearing accurately. 

We have further instruction in scripture about our thinking. "...whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." (Phillipians 4:8 NASB)

When I filter my thinking thru this verse, I usually get stalled on that first word.  Is it true, Connie?  So very often, the enemy of my soul has tainted the truth with a twisted lie. 

During conversations with Morgan these past couple weeks, I have seen her struggling as she filters what she hears.  I have not lectured, or given lots of advice.  My health has taken me out of the close circle we usually inhabit.  (...wonder if the Lord needed to get me out of the way!!??) 

But Jesus said He would never leave or forsake..."He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,  so that we confidently say, "THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID." (Hebrews 13:6-7 KJV)

Pray for her as they continue thru this first year of school with Jett, that she will filter every word she hears thru her faith in Jesus, not any fear or twisted lie from our enemy.  Our God is as able now as He was two years ago.  He has Jett in the palm of His Hand.  Pray that she will make it her purpose to search for what is true, thinking on only what is right, pure, lovely, good, and excellent, dwelling on those things, never on what the enemy attempts to deceive her with.

We pray blessings on all educators who make impacts on our childrens lives, and we pray an extra measure of God's grace on those dealing with children who are a bit more difficult than others. 

I fear Jesus may have thought that about me a few times.  A little more difficult than others.

A Journey with the Jett-man

After having chronicled Jett's accident and the early recovery, I have spoken with Morgan about continuing to write about the victories and the struggles that continue.  

Morgan and Matt have a very smart and active little boy to raise.  He does have struggles that other children do not, but at this point in time they are not really apparent to him.  (But they sure are to his mommy!)

God wastes none of our pain.  When we bring the brokenness to Him, with honest hearts and open ears, He will help us, lead us, and bring blessing from even the struggles.  We surely know that from our experiences with Him these past two years! 

As humans, especially us mothers, we want to 'fix' what is broken.  We want to kiss it and make it better.  We want to make the path smooth and easy.  Unlike us, God knows that some struggles are worth the pain, some are necessary for us to become stronger, some bring us into more intimate relationship with Him, and some are just downright our own rebellious decisions. 

As Jett started pre-K this year, things weren't as smooth sailing as we would have liked.  But his mother shared with me today that they were quite smooth as far as Jett was concerned, it was just her that had experienced some turbulence. Jett loves school and never acts like he doesn't want to be there.  He also knows there are rules, and he understands that he breaks some of them.  Trouble is, he thinks about that after he has already broken them! 

Hummm...  Imagine that.  

I too, know that God has expectations of me.  I know there are things to which He has said "don't".  And I too, find myself having done those things without hesitation. 

I don't know where this new blog will go.  I just know that the lessons I learn and the whispers of His still small Voice continue to reach my heart as I watch the little boy and his family continue to live the life they have been granted. 

As Eli advised Samuel, "....if the voice calls again, say, 'Speak, GOD. I'm your servant, ready to listen.'"