Welcome to the October 30th edition of Faith & Life Lessons.
You will see this email full of tidbits from my week. My goal is simple. I hope that from how I live my life, you can find a thing or two that helps you as you try to live a life that matters. I am always trying to do one thing - make Christ-focused decisions in love, work, and life. And this was my week.
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The Story of My Week
I had to make a trip to Nigeria this week.
Something stood out for me.
The timing of the trip.
When it was originally planned, it was meant to be in November.
All of a sudden, we had to plan for it in less than 7 days - coordinating with teams across 3 countries.
We needed to visit a couple of projects in Lagos in locations where you could spend hours in traffic.
As it turned out, we didn’t spend hours in traffic. It was then someone who remarked “you guys are lucky, you came when schools were having mid-term holidays. So traffic is not so bad”
Back at home, my wife had to do school runs with all the kids in the car.
Usually, due to traffic, I get down at some point of the way and walk about 4-6 minutes to the school of one of our kids.
My wife and I had wondered how this was going to roll, considering that we had a toddler in toll.
Guess what?
Some of the schools along the way also choose the week as their holiday week.
So, the drive would take my wife and the kids right up to the school for drop off
God has ways of stepping in to ease things for His kids.
Things I Learnt
1-Parenting Never Stops: The wife of an older couple in our church had to make an emergency flight back to their home country.
One of their kids was having problems in his marriage. They were on the verge of divorce.
She took a flight back to try and do what parents never stop doing - hoping that things turn out right for their kids.
I remember when I was younger and my dad told me that a parent never stops caring for their kids.
I have lived a few years and I realise the truth in that statement.
I have had the opportunity of sharing friendships with couples older enough to be my parents.
From those relationships, I have seen how they continue to worry about their kids.
How they hope that they will make the best decisions in life.
I saw that in action this week.
The wife made a completely unplanned trip just because their kid was going through a rough season of life and making a major life decision.
They can't decide for him.
But they can be there to show their support.
As only parents can do.
A parent never stops parenting.
2-The Right Weight of Expectations: We had a performance review with the teachers of one of our kids this week.
The first thing the teacher asked was our opinion of the report that our kid brought back home.
I responded "it's what I expect. I don't expect flying results from day 1 after moving from a Spanish system to an American system."
You should have seen the sense of relief on the teacher's face. He said he wished all the parents were like these.
It looked like he had to be defending the grades he gave the kids in their first-term report.
Every parent thinks their kid is a genius-level intellect.
Actually, I know my kid is (I smile)
But I also know that every kid needs time to adapt to a new system.
I see our kids doing that.
The teacher complimented that.
He also gave us additional insight into what we could be doing at home to bring out our genius-level intellect.
But I am not giving my kids a bigger weight of expectation than they need to carry.
Even if the parents around me are doing that to their kids
Postscript
May you never overwhelm yourself with a bigger weight of expectation than the one God has given you. May you live your life to the full measure of what God has put in you Amen.
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Tola - The Everyday Disciple
I help Christians like you who want to live intentional lives incorporate their faith into everyday life so they can make Christ focused decisions in all areas of life and truly live to make an impact and make God happy.
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