It's An Honor Just To Be Nominated!

A few weeks ago my oldest sons teacher recommended that he try to enroll in honors classes for his 3rd grade year. Apparently, in order for a kid to make it into one of these classes they have to pass a bunch of tests. I don't know much about these "honors" things because the only thing a teacher ever recommended for me was home school.

The funny thing is, I wasn't expecting too much from my boy. The reason: He's MY son! That means he should be blessed with my inability to get good grades in school. At least that's how I rolled when I was his age. Anyway, because of his "genes" I prepared all of my lines if the testing didn't go well and he didn't get into the honors classes...

"It's not you, it's them!"

"It's an honor just to be nominated."

And the best one...

"You're always gonna be daddy's honor student."

Well, this week I found out that none of those lines were necessary. My boy got in...and that is very cool for him! I am sure he will succeed because this school stuff is right up his alley. But putting the whole "honors" thing aside, it taught me a valuable lesson on how I shouldn't be surprised to see my kids succeed. God has gifted each of them with talents and abilities that will develop as they grow. The most positive thing I can do for my kids is encourage them to pursue those things. 

It also reminds me of how God views us. There are so many times that I wish God would just step in and make a situation more pleasant for me. But he just sits back, like a proud papa, and says, "I gave you the tools to get out of this mess. You'll be okay." The cool thing about God is that He KNOWS we will succeed because we have his "genes". That's right, we are created in His image and are His children. Have you ever taken one second to actually think about what that means?

The next time you're down...The next time you feel like you don't have what it takes...The next time you don't even want to try because you think you'll fail...

Just remember, your Heavenly Father expects you to succeed because you're His child! You're His creation! And because of that, in the words of the band Switchfoot, "You were meant to live for SO MUCH MORE!"

That's your lift.

Josh