Kill the Boy!!!

My poor kids! They are very close to becoming full-fledged "PK's" (preacher's kids.) Actually, they've already become PK's for the most part because quite often I use them or things that have happened to them as examples when I teach and preach. Emily can breathe a sigh of relief because this time, I'm using Josh.

Josh recently earned his Arrow of Light and became a full-fledged Boy Scout. He's quite proud of this achievement. He likes hanging out with the older boys in his troop. So when the troop planned their first camp out with the "new guys" he was very excited! He spent the week making plans for what he needed to take and thinking about what they would do over the course of the weekend. Of course, my heart broke a little bit having to send my baby away for two nights without me but this didn't seem to be of concern to Josh.

I spent the first few hours of his absence missing him. That ended when I walked into his room. The floor was covered with clothes - dirty and clean alike. They were mixed in with toys, books and various other things that were unrecognizable to me. After fully taking in the scene, the first words out of my mouth were ,"I'm going to kill him!"

Thus, the great room cleaning began. Laundry baskets were filled with clothes to be washed. Trash sacks were filled with all kinds of things to be discarded. Drawers were organized. Toys were put into piles for him to decide what would stay, what would be thrown away and what would come to the church rummage sale - all of this being accomplished with my thinking of ways to dispose of a body! (OK, not really but I think you get my point.)

In one of his drawers I found a CD that wasn't labeled with anything. I turned on his boom box so I could put the CD in to find out what was on it. AS it came one, the radio started playing. I braced myself for some really loud, obnoxious music. But I didn't' hear what I was expecting.

Instead, KLOVE started playing. KLOVE is a Christian radio station that is broadcast nationally and plays contemporary Christian music - good music that shares the message about God's love. That is what I'm usually listening to in my car and because my kids have heard the songs so many times there, they know them and sing along. But Josh had it on his own radio in his own room!

Immediately, my heart softened. I forgot about how I wanted to kill him and became proud of him. He had chosen to listen to this station on his own. It was at that moment that I realized that he has been paying attention to everytyhing he's been learning at church all his life.

We never know how what we say or do will affect someone's life and the choices they make. We can affect them positively and help them come to love God or we can affect them negatively and never show them who God truly is. We're not always going to do the right thing. But we can strive to be good sowers of God's love and grace. And just maybe, years from now, you may be surprised at what you reap!

In His Love,
Amy