Lesson Learned



Those of you who know me, know that I have 2 daughters and 1 son...
My daughters were dancers and singers...they did show-choir and musicals...
They loved to entertain...

My son..Isaiah...complete opposite...
Isaiah is an extremely bright boy...
His academics have always been superior...

I remember receiving his 6th grade report card..
His grades were outstanding...95 and higher...
except for one...Music.

Really? How hard is 6th grade music?
I asked Isaiah how he received an 85 in Music Class...
His answer... I hate Music..I hate singing...
I get a bad grade because I "lip sync".

You can imagine my shock when just one year later..
the summer of his 7th grade...
Isaiah decided to attend a discipleship class at church..
The class was on worship....

So, he grabbed his Grandpa's large, old guitar and he went to class...
Michael and I stopped in at the end of the week to see how things were going..
We found Isaiah sitting in the back row of the sanctuary, the guitar sitting next to him in a chair...
He was "DONE"...Isaiah  was discouraged and vowed to never pick up a guitar again.

Something in Isaiah's disappointment spoke to me...
As a Mom , I could tell that his disappointment came from a place of desire..
He desired to play the guitar...He had a desire to use that for worship...

I wasn't sure how to encourage him...
My husband was the one who said that maybe it was the guitar..
It was old, out of tune and really too big for Isaiah.

So, we made the decision to go get him a new guitar...
actually it was a used guitar...
it cost us $60 and we figured if nothing else, it would show Isaiah that we believed in him.

He took that guitar...still unsure..
and he began to practice...and practice...and practice...
Every single day he played...and although he never said it...
I know every single day he prayed...

Isaiah became better and we saw this passion growing...
For his 13th birthday...we invested in a "Good " guitar for Isaiah.
We also invested in some guitar lessons...
And he kept playing and praying...
and I was praying too.

I could see that the Lord had laid this passion upon Isaiah's heart..
A real heart of Worship...
About a year after receiving his guitar...
Isaiah told us that he felt called to be a Worship Pastor..

Wow..really God, from the Lip Syncing boy with the 85 in music?
I began to pray for Isaiah and his talents...that they would be blessed and anointed..
I watched him practice over and over...
I saw his hunger to learn more...

Isaiah will be 16 next week..and he has come a long way in the past 3 years..
He serves on the Youth Group Worship Team every Wednesday...
He has learned piano...
and he has begun to sing...

Yesterday...I learned something about our God from my 15yr old son.

Isaiah has been asked to play acoustic guitar this Sunday morning for Church Service..
He is beyond excited and as we were talking about it last night...
He said " it was just over a year ago that I sat in Youth Group...
Wishing I could be up there as part of the Worship Team"
I responded saying " look how far you've come in the last year"

And then it hit me......
I often pray that the Lord will give me the desires of my heart..
but that's it.. I pray and I leave the rest up to God..
You know..if it's His plan then He will make it happen..
and I wait and I wonder and I wait and I get discouraged and I wait..

Maybe we are not called to wait..
Just maybe we are called to do...
to take that step toward our calling...
to put in the work...the time ...the practice..
to have Faith.

Isaiah kept practicing...
when the guitar was wrong...when the discouragement set in...
while he sat in service with that desire to be up there...
when he realized that the Lord had called him to this..
yet he was not seeing the fruits of his labor...

Isaiah kept practicing...kept learning...
kept preparing and kept believing..
because Isaiah knew that The Lord had given him a word....
He kept the Faith.

²³ Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, ²⁴ knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.

This Sunday.....Isaiah will be receiving his reward...
He will be fulfilling a dream and the Lord will be confirming a calling..
and as for me...
I will be sitting 5 rows back on the left...
Worshipping a God who keeps His Word...

You will know which one is me....
Just look for the Mom with the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Take a step today toward that which you've been called to do...
I know I am...
Lesson Learned.

Keep Preparing,
Shelly

A GOOD MAN

I have just returned home from Chicago..
My cousin Kaylin married her"one and only"
John is a "Good Man"
He Loves Kaylin, and it is written all over his face.....

It is evident in the way that he looks at her...
looks over her....
and looks out for her.

John is a "Good Man"

What's the big deal??

"Good Men" are hard to find...
it's not just a cliche..
it's the truth.

I began thinking about this a while ago..
about why it is so unusual to find a "Good Man"..
an honest man, with character and compassion...
Not afraid to cry, or laugh..
Never afraid to express his Faith...
Always willing to serve...

I have known for some time now.....
I have married a "Good Man'....

As I sat at the reception of Kaylin and John...
I saw my husband for who he is....
A REALLY GOOD MAN...

Let me tell you....
Michael and I have been married for a long time...
Our lives are busy and truth be told...
We don't have a great deal of time to spend with one another.

I love him with my entire being..
but sometimes (a great deal of the time)
I take him for granted...

I am even guilty of reminding him of how lucky he is...
I constantly let him know that I do EVERYTHING for him..
I make HIS life easy..

Well, things look pretty nice from up here on my pedestal...
The pedestal of "I do it all...and that makes you lucky!!"

As I sat at Kaylin and John's reception..
right there in the middle of that stunning venue..
that beautiful celebration of Love, Commitment and Trust...

The Lord knocked me off that Pedestal of Righteousness..
It wasn't a huge push,
but rather a small breeze...
like a whisper to my soul...

Let me explain...
We were at our table, waiting for dinner to be served..
My daughter, Tara was not feeling well..
She is in the first trimester of her pregnancy and let's just say "Morning Sickness" is an understatement.

Her husband left the reception and went back to the Hotel to get Tara some medicine..
She was not feeling well at all, and decided it was best for her to go back to the Hotel and lie down.

Well, I was completely enthralled with all of the beautiful things taking place at the reception...
I barely noticed..
It was a quick glance..
My husband, who was sitting next to me, but a moment earlier..
was gone...
I began looking around ...
and I saw him....Across the room...His back to mine....
He was walking out the door...
He had his arm out...and looped through his arm...was Tara's.

Tears filled my eyes as I watched this man...this GOOD MAN..
Hold up his daughter and take her to meet her husband in a waiting cab...
No one had asked him to help her...
No one had insisted...
He never even mentioned he was leaving...
He just saw that she was in need ...and he was there for her..
Holding her...walking with her...almost carrying her..

That's all it took to knock me to the floor...
That pedestal where I loved to perch myself, was nowhere to be found...

I doubt anyone else in that room noticed..
but that image of my daughter...clinging to my husband..
that image of love and compassion and caring...is etched in my mind forever.

It served as a reminder to me of God's Love and Compassion for his children..
Michael was a living, breathing example of Christ's Love in that moment...

When we are tired, or sick, or we just can't stand on our own..
Our heavenly Father comes up beside us...links His arm through ours...
and HE carries us through...
We don't have to ask or insist..
He does it because we are his children....and He loves us...

Even more than Michael loves Tara..
That's hard to imagine.

Thank you Lord for those little moments...
The little whispers that remind us of your love for your children...
That knock us off of that pedestal...
and that remind me, personally, that you have created for me.
A GOOD MAN.



28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light...Matt11:28-30

Standing on the Floor,
Shelly