Graduation Day

There is a day right around the corner which many students and parents are anxiously anticipating. Graduation Day! This day marks a big milestone in a student's life. Each student had to work hard in order to get to this day. Invitations have been sent out to welcome family members and friends to be a part of this joyous, celebratory day. Special photo sessions have taken place in order to help commemorate this very special moment and big event in a person's life.

Graduation Day is a BIG deal! This all got me thinking about the school journey. In the early education years students start off learning the basics: colors, letter recognition and sounds, counting. As each student gains knowledge, understanding and comprehension they are then advanced to the next grade level. Of course, these students all had wonderful and amazing teachers to help instruct them daily and parents to support them at home. In order to be advanced from kindergarten to first grade, or from first grade to second grade, it may not have required extremely challenging work for many students. However, as students progress into the late elementary school years and into the middle school years, things begin to change in the school atmosphere. 

TESTING.

Now, students are required to take standardized tests to measure the knowledge and comprehension which they have acquired throughout the school year. The students must pass these tests in order to be promoted to the next grade level. If they do not pass the test, they are given an opportunity to retake the test. Still, the student must pass the test in order to advance to the next grade level. Not only that, the school work and homework in junior high and high school are also more challenging. The projects require more research and more time to accomplish. The level of difficulty also increases for each grade level's assignments and projects. The students who decide that they do not want to do the work, do not have to do the work. They will simply fail. If they fail, they will not advance to the next grade level. They will have to repeat an entire school year and be required to do the same work and the same projects all over again. Ugh! Who would want to do that? Certainly not I!

In my Christian walk I have to admit that there have been many tests which I've faced that I simply did not want to take. I wanted to do other things in order to win favor with God, hoping that that would be enough to bypass that specific task/test/assignment that He had specifically for me. But you see, I've learned that God knows best. I know that if He has a certain task for me, if He moves me to do something way beyond my comprehension or understanding, that I should simply be obedient to Him. Being obedient to God will save you so much heartache, frustration and tears.  Now, please do not confuse my words.  When you are obedient to God, when you fully seek to follow the example of Jesus, you will still experience heartache and you will still feel the need to cry from time to time. But oh the joy that comes in the morning is like none other! It's knowing that everything will be okay because we serve a loving God, who adores us and has good things in store for us!

Now, back to the topic at hand. One of the tests that I faced over and over again was when God wanted to change me but I was praying for Him to change my husband and kids. I would pray daily and I would plead with God to please make my husband a godly man and to make him be the spiritual leader of our home. I would plead and declare that my children were obedient kids, obeying their parents the very FIRST time! And I remember so clearly one day, after shouting this declaration to our Lord, I remember His gentle whisper: That same obedience which you desperately desire from your children is the same kind of obedience that I so desire from you.

Wow. Talk about the mic being dropped. I sat there for a moment, unable to think or speak. I was simply allowing the words that I'd clearly heard to resonate within me for a long moment. Then I sat quietly, unsure of what to do next. Finally, I closed my eyes and I asked for forgiveness. That day marked the beginning of my Christian walk where I finally began to ask God to change me. I asked Him to help me become a less angry mom and wife. I asked for His help to become the woman that HE created me to be. I realized that although I had been learning the truths of God's Word, I was so busy trying to apply them to my husband and children that I was failing to see that they needed to be applied to me first.  This was a test that God had given me but I had been failing it over and over again. I was waiting for breakthroughs in my family, yet I was the one keeping them from happening.

But you see, our loving God  is a God of second chances. He loves us and He will allow us endless opportunities to take the test again, until we pass it. But when we finally pass that test, oh what a joy it will be for our Father in Heaven! Oh, the celebration that will be happening when we graduate to the next level of our walk with the Lord! You see, from that day forward my prayers began to change. I began to recognize my weaknesses. I had a very honest talk with God. I said to Him something along these lines:

"God, you made me this way. You made me passionate, loud and bold. And since you made me this way, then you have to help me to not get so angry and yell all the time. You have to help me stop saying all these bad words that I say when I get angry. You have to help me keep my mouth quiet when I usually feel like yelling!"

That's more or less what I said to God on that day. And guess what?  Almost immediately, I began to feel so different. When I would get angry, I would say, "God, I need you," under my breath and I would feel the anger instantly go away. During the times, when something happened that would make my blood boil, I would literally feel a hand over my mouth to keep me from saying anything at all. I would walk away to a quiet place and vent my frustration to God. Other times, I would write down my feelings to God and then pray afterwards. God was teaching me and helping me, just like any amazing teacher and parent would, how to pass my tests. He was giving me the tools necessary to deal with my anger in a way that was pleasing to Him. He was teaching and guiding me along the way. There were still times when I would slip up. But I would immediately feel the Holy Spirit convict me, so I would repent right then and there.  I would immediately apologize to my husband or kids. Let me tell you, this was a very difficult process for me. It was not easy and it was very humbling! My husband and my kids gave me such weird looks, unsure if my calm reaction was all that was coming. It's as if they were anticipating the angry yelling and harsh words that would normally come out of my mouth. 

But God. Thanks to His amazing grace and His amazing love I was being transformed into the wife that encouraged her husband in the way that I was meant to. I was becoming the loving, forgiving, understanding mom that my children needed me to be. Oh, and the change that this brought to our home. Our home is now a home of peace. It is a home of love and joy. It is not perfect, by any means, but oh how our good Lord has brought us a long way! The change in our home and in my family that I was desiring, started with me allowing God to change me first. Even though my anger and temper is something which God has helped me to overcome, there have been other tests which I have had to pass along the way. I now understand that there will always be more tests. I've realized that as I mature in my walk with the Lord, the tests and assignments that God will give me will require more faith, more trust, more dependence on Him. But I am comforted in knowing that if I press on, that if I simply put one foot in front of the other, that He will carry me through it. You see, God created us. He created you and me. And because of His amazing love for us, He already equipped us with all that we need to pass every test with flying colors!

I encourage you to continue to seek Him. Pass those tests by leaning into Him. Tap into the power of the Holy Spirit inside of you. Surround yourself with people who can encourage you during the difficult parts of your journey. Rest assured that His joy comes from seeing you succeed! Praise Him through the storm and praise Him after the victory! You see, our Graduation Day will one day come. Our Graduation Day will come when Jesus comes back for His bride. On that day, Jesus will hand each one of us our diplomas saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant!" So I encourage you to face each trial with joy, knowing what is one day to come!  If you are feeling discouraged and tired of going through the same thing over and over again, I encourage you to not give up! Ask God for His help and He will be happy to give it!

Let me pray for you:

Dear Lord, thank you for loving us so much. Thank you for creating each one of us with a unique and special purpose. I thank you that we don't have to compete with anyone else for your love, for your mercy or forgiveness. Father, forgive us for our sins. Forgive us for every time that we have given in to the temptation of our flesh and done something that was not pleasing to you. Help us, oh Lord! We lay our weaknesses at your feet. Help us to become the man/woman you created us to be! Help us to rely on you and not on our own strength, to fulfill your will for our lives. Father, help us to turn away from our bad habits. Help us to grow in our faith and to learn to trust in you! Help us to be obedient to you. We thank you that you are a good, good Father! Thank you for teaching us your truths through your Living Word and for allowing a way for us to apply those truths to our lives! Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice for us. Father, we praise you in the storm! We thank you that we are victorious in Christ Jesus! We thank you for shaping us and molding us more and more in your likeness. Make us less so that there is room for more of you, Lord! I thank you for the families that will be transformed because of that one person's willingness to humble themselves before you. In the mighty and powerful name of Jesus I pray. Amen.