A New Hope: Endurance in the “Every-day”
My 15yo son lives and breathes music. He excels at his honors and AP courses, but awakens each day consumed with thoughts of music. That passion, along with the intensity he inherited from his father, makes for some interesting conversations.
He once confided in me, “Mom, I’m so tired of other kids in the band who don’t take it seriously. They act like it’s an elective or something!”… Um, because it is?….
Another time during middle school, he came home really frustrated about a kid in the band who wasn’t very musical and proclaimed, “I’m going to talk with Mr. Dodson (the band director) tomorrow about having this kid extracted from the band.” Yes, that was the word he used. Extracted. I envisioned a Navy Seals team mission that ended in one mysteriously missing percussionist.
This morning on the way to school we were discussing the 4 classes he’ll be taking next semester, 2 of which are AP Music Theory and Symphonic Band.
“Well,” he said, “Only half of next semester is going to suck.”
“Which half is that?” I asked.
“The half that’s not in the band room.”
I drove away contemplating the profoundness of that statement. Because that’s the rub, isn’t it? Loving parts of life that don’t “suck”, and figuring out how to tolerate the rest.
But what if John 10:10 wasn’t meant to be circumstantial?
What if we were able to view the details of life that routinely “suck”
as opportunities to experience the wonder of “life to the full”
in the midst of imperfections?
Somewhat like my role as a mom. Hear me now, I love laughing with my kids, snuggling beside them with a good book, watching them grow and mature, and being drawn into their world of play to be reminded that life is a beautiful and fun adventure.
The joy I found in things as a kid intensifies as I raise my own. Take Star Wars, for instance. While I enjoyed these movies in my youth, they’re 100 times more fun now that I’m experiencing them through my kids’ eyes. Why do I wake up early when a new episode is released in theaters to make a breakfast of “Yoda Soda” and “Princess Leia Cinnamon Buns”? Because their excitement magnifies my own.
But then there are the parts of parenting that, well, to quote my teenager, “suck”.
Sleepless nights, illnesses I can’t “fix”, potty training, endless laundry, socks with no matches, poor choices, homework, puberty and IEP meetings, to name a few. Is there a way to experience abundance in the mundane?
God’s Word says there is. It says that wherever Jesus is, there is joy, hope and peace.
Remembering that I am operating in his presence is crucial.
Psalm 16:8-11 says:
I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful one see decay.
You make known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
I can only thrive in the land of dirty diapers, doctors’ visits and detentions when I’m fully living in the presence of Jesus through meditating on his word and walking in his will.
Continually communicating with Him and focusing on what He is doing in and through me, especially when I’m not “in the band room”.
