I will preface this post by saying yesterday was not a good afternoon between Owen and I. Not sure what his deal was, but I could tell by the look in his eyes that everything was going to be a struggle. The conversation we had later at dinner, that I am about to describe might not have been as much as a blessing to me if the afternoon had gone smoothly.
My oldest son is not a humble person. He is about all things- Owen. He was thrilled to discover there is a city in Wisconsin that shares his name. He brags that there are more Owens in the world than Masons. If he is losing at the Wii, it's b/c the system is cheating him and if he is winning- watch out you can't miss his victory dance! Now, I know pride is not an uncommon struggle. In fact, it goes way back; to Eve's decision to eat the apple. Some of us, mainly adults, can perhaps hide their pride better than others, but it's always there.
Owen is not afraid to tell people what he likes, at the moment this includes the Eagles, the Phillies and JMU (daddy's teams)! If you are wearing anything other than those teams he will say "BOO" or at least mutter it under is breath.
All of this can be obnoxious when you are living with him 24 hrs a day, but I think this can be a good quality too. As long as you're on his side ;)
Owen has recently started asking Mason who or what he loves most in the world. Mason who is oblivious to Owen's trick will say whatever he is thinking at the time. If the answer is not "God", then Owen proceeds to point out that Mason is in love with the wrong thing.
Now, I know this sounds mean, Owen comes across like a know it all that puts others down. But it excites me. Even if Owen is asking with poor motives, he is still thinking about loving God. He knows that God is who his mommy and daddy love the most (by His grace). He knows that loving God the most is a good thing.
Evidently there was a discussion at school about who the kids love the most (not about each other, but just like Owen asked Mason) I have a feeling that Owen initiated the conversation. He told his classmates (at lunch, I think) that he loves God the most.
I know it might have been a pride thing. He likes to have the best answer. But he was talking about God in a bold way! Wow!
So what came of their discussion about love? One of his classmates mentioned (not for the 1st time) that her mom doesn't love her. She is an only child of a single mom. The first time Owen told me this I said, "of course her mom loves her." I wasn't really focusing at the time. This time however, God had prepared me. A few hours before I had read a chapter for biblestudy called "The Gospel Propels Us Outward" from the
Gospel-Centered Life. It challenged me to remember the gospel isn't just for me to keep to myself, but to share with others.
So this time, instead of saying "of course her mom loves her" I gave him the truth. I reminded him that Jesus loves her and asked, "do you think she knows that Jesus loves her? Not everyone knows about Jesus. Not everyone's mommy and daddy tells them about Jesus.You could tell her that Jesus loves her."
To be honest I don't really remember what he said. I don't think he said anything. And I didn't push him to respond. It was all that needed to be said. I could tell he was deep in thought.
Maybe the girl's mommy loves her and maybe she doesn't. There are plenty of children who don't feel loved. Whatever the case may be it has crossed this little girl's mind that maybe she is not loved. And I am pretty certain it has never crossed Owen's mind. Now, I know kids say the darndest things. Perhaps she was just wanted extra attention. But it is obvious that Owen is troubled by this, he has mentioned it twice. And he should be. We will be praying for this little girl.
So, I am thankful, for the opportunity to share Jesus' love with my sons. And for Owen to hopefully share His love too. And I am thankful that God so quickly allowed me to take what I had read and put it into practice. Without His spirit I could have missed a lot! And despite our terrible afternoon, Owen was reminded that I love him and Jesus loves him even more!
And that's why I wouldn't trade this job for the world!
