Soul-Stirring Conversations October 2008 Susan May Warren Newsletter

This too shall pass.

My son woke up Monday morning with a 101 fever. Being a good mother, I declared, "No School for you!" and promptly medicated him and stuck him back in bed. However a voice murmured in the back of my mind...it's game day. He won't be able to play.

Yeah, yeah, I thought. What if he's well by, say, noon? If I brought him into school could he play?

By noon, he'd progressed to the sofa, where he was coughing up a lung, all the while saying, "but mom, I can play. Really."

I'm sure he could. The kid would do anything to play football. And, he's good. He scored FIVE touchdowns in the previous game. And, I love to watch him play.

So, at 3:00, I gave in.

I drove the sickie to school so he could throw himself on the mercy of the coach and beg to play.

It didn't work. Pete had to sit out his last game on the sidelines, huddled in a jacket in the freezing drizzle, watching his team play. Thankfully, the won 48-8. Still, it hurt.

And, being his mother, KNOWING that he shouldn't be playing, as well as KNOWING how badly he wanted to play, hurt too.

I hate it when my kids long for something, and don't get it. Like my oldest son not landing the part of the Cowardly Lion for the play (a role he was born to play, in my humble opinion). And my daughter not getting asked to the Homecoming dance by the boy she likes.

Ouch.

But, see, I also know that this too shall pass. They will live beyond this moment, and even the things they learn through their disappointment will help them grow.

It helps that I've been reading 1 Peter these days, as I write the "PJ Sugar - Trouble" novels. It's a collection of novels about a wanna-be PI named PJ Sugar, who just can't seem to stay out of trouble. Book Two is all about her tendency to get in over her head, and find herself overwhelmed. Suffering from her own mistakes, her disappointments, her failures.

1 Peter 1:6-7 has an answer for that. "In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fine - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed."

God knows about our mistakes, our disappointments, and our failures. And He KNOWS what He's doing in our lives. There is a plan, if we will just be faithful to trust Him.

Pete has to have faith that even though he couldn't play this game, if he stays in bed, (and listens to his mother), God will heal him (we hope!) and if he is well, he MIGHT get to play in the upcoming Varsity game. And David has to believe that while he might not be able to play the Cowardly Lion, his willingness to take a different part and be a team player will make an impression on the Director for future plays.

And maybe the foreign exchange student from Italy isn't the right choice of dates for my daughter.

We all have disappointments every day. Mistakes, failures. It helps me to know that nothing is wasted with God, and that it hurts Him to watch us stand on the sidelines and suffer.

And someday, we just might get to play in the Varsity game.

It's fall here - beautiful weather. I'm off to teach at the Glorieta Christian Writer's Conference this week. And then, I'll be in Minneapolis in November for a booksigning at the Maple Grove Northwestern Bookstore Friday, November 7th. Hope to see you there!

Thank you for all your letters - I've tried to write back when I can. Thank you for reading - your words and support are a great encouragement to me.

Pressing on, in His grace,

Susan