On the night before he began kindergarten, my youngest son, Joshua, announced he’d “rather go to jail” than go to school. His big brother mumbled something sarcastic about the prison bars in the principal’s office, while his sisters attempted to soothe Joshua’s anxieties by pointing out the perks of being a kindergartener.
“Did you know that when you lose a tooth at school you get to bring it home in a tiny treasure box?” my daughter Hannah asked.
Joshua grinned and poked his finger in his mouth to check for loose teeth. But when it was time to brush those pearly whites and head to bed, his smile faded and his fears returned. He lay in his bottom bunk with silent tears streaming down his soft flushed cheeks and spilled his worries onto his soggy pillow.
What if my legs get cramped on my carpet square?
What if my ears hurt from listening all day?
What if I forget to raise my hand?
What if I’m the only one who can’t read?
To be honest, Joshua’s worries resonated with my own. I’d prayed unceasingly over the upcoming school year and was certain God had placed my son in the kindergarten classroom that would best meet his needs. Yet, I just couldn’t imagine my littlest boy thriving in any classroom at all. He loved piles of dirt more than stacks of books and preferred hammers over pencils.
Joshua’s eyelids drooped and his breathing slowed. Then, before he surrendered to sleep, he voiced one last concern: “I can’t go to kindergarten tomorrow, Mommy. I don’t have even one wiggly tooth!”
I assured my son that loose teeth weren’t a prerequisite for kindergarten, and I headed to the kitchen to pack lunches for morning.
However, minutes later my husband found me crying over the jar of peanut butter as I slapped together those first-day-of-school sandwiches.
My man wrapped his arms around me, and I confessed the angst preying on my mind. “I can’t figure out how Joshua’s going to make it through the school year.”
“You don’t have to figure it out,” my husband gently replied as he wiped a smudge of peanut butter off my cheek. “That’s God’s job.”
Have you been there before, too?
Wondering if your children are really ready for the path their feet will trod? Worrying about the potholes that may snag their steps?
As moms, it’s tempting to believe that we need to fill every chink in our children’s trail, to figure out how to make their journeys seamless and serene.
However, Isaiah 26:7 reminds us that’s God’s job. “The path of the righteous is level; you, the Upright One, make the way of the righteous smooth.”
Our duty is to lead our kids to God. God’s charge is to establish their steps (Proverbs 16:9) and smooth their way.
Our children may be trekking toward a new school year or stepping onto a new team; stumbling along a painful detour or skipping into a season of growth. But no matter where they’re headed, God is aware of every gap in the road they’re traveling.
And we can find great comfort in remembering that no matter what our children’s paths look like–straight or bumpy, rough or smooth–God has a plan for their every step (Jeremiah 29:11).
Joshua’s first year at school wasn’t perfect, but God was faithful. And nine months later, as we waited for the big yellow bus to chug up our street on the last day of kindergarten, my son admitted he’d changed his mind.
He flashed me a toothless smile and conceded… Going to kindergarten was definitely better than going to jail!
The bus slowed to a stop, and Joshua climbed aboard. He pressed his face against the window and waved good-bye. That’s when I noticed a splash of white hovering at the top of his gaping grin.
Soon a new tooth would inhabit that endearing hole in his smile. Because that’s just how God works, faithfully filling every gap in His own way and in His perfect time.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV).
Are you ready to trust God with your children?
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