Amazing Lessons

So, during the time that Nickels was grounded this past weekend, we had him write two papers, one on lying and the other on stealing.

Without getting into specifics about why these were the topics, let me just take a moment to tell you about how "hard" lessons can actually turn out to be the best ones in town.

At dinner, I asked each of the boys for the best part of their day. Nickels said, without an ounce of hesitation or a bit of sarcasm, that writing those papers was it for him.

I could have dropped my entire glass of wine on the ground in that moment. SERIOUSLY? An assignement for two, one-page writings, complete with three sentences of "how-to" instructions from his English-teacher Mom, including "must reference two Bible verses on the topic" and a lesson in how to use a Bible concordance was the BEST part of his day??? WOW.

I was so awed I felt the need to ask him about this again at bedtime, when it was just the two of us, and I felt I could cut through the bull and get the real story.

Again, he was unwavering. It was, indeed, the best part of the day, he declared.

In short, he had found his way to completely letting go of the sin of the deed, had asked everyone involved for forgiveness, had proven to himself, through scripture, that his deeds were wrong, had offered true repentence and discovered that he was free. No more need to feel bad. No more need to dwell. Just a need to move ahead and remember this lesson for future reference, when times get tough and the tough get weak.

He made the most brilliant analogy I'd seen in awhile about sin: "It's like that blood pressure thing at Walmart.* It keeps squeezing you, like guilt, but when you tell the truth, it releases."

Tonight, during prayers, we said a prayer to Jesus, admitting sin and asking for His complete forgiveness. It was a sweet moment, a time we'll both remember when he's older and has learned more life lessons and remembers the very first time he took missteps to Jesus and felt better for doing so.

I'll forever remember this small victory in his walk with Jesus. This time when Nickels learned that his actions affect those around him and separate him from the most important relationship in his life, that with his Christ. This time when he learned that true repentence brings about true forgiveness, if only we make an admission and ask for that which we are totally unworthy to receive.

Thank you, Lord, for this boy who is growing up way too fast and learning lessons that are shaping his character and soul for the work you have coming his way. Thank you for letting me be his Mom and, for once, feeling like I did something the right way. Amen.



*In our Walmart, by the pharmacy, there is a blood pressure machine with a built-in cuff, that allows the user to check his/her bp on the spot. Nickels is fascinated by this machine and begs to use it everytime we go. Sometimes, I say "yes".