Making It Her Own

We like to have people over for dinner.
There's just something about sharing a meal together.
It helps break down barriers and allows for intimate conversation that wouldn't happen otherwise.
A relationship can quickly move past surface small talk to friendship over a homemade salad, grilled corn, apple cinnamon ham and fried bananas.

So a few nights ago we were talking to some friends over dinner and they were asking about our kids and our faith and how we merge the two together.

More than anything we want our kids to see our Faith in Jesus Christ lived out consistently in every area of our lives, so that they will, in turn, begin to incorporate their own faith in Him into their own lives.

And this past week I think Areyna made leaps and bounds in that direction.

See, she isn't an academic whiz like her daddy.  Unfortunately she got her mama genes in the education department, ha!  (Hey, there's no shame here!)  We have to work hard for the understanding and retention of the knowledge we need to learn.  Fortunately Rainy is a very self-motivated, hard worker.  She has come SO FAR since we put her into the public school system in 2nd grade.  She began 5th grade right on track!

And then came long-hand division.
And it was wreaking havoc on her self-esteem and enjoyment in school.

We've been communicating with her teacher about her need for a little "boost" in this area and she has been meeting with her in the mornings before the other students get there. (We can't say enough good things about our kid's school!)  But she still wasn't understanding and remembering all the steps.

She was beyond frustrated, one particular morning, and left for school in tears.
So you can imagine my shock (and relief) when she walked into the door after school that day with a huge smile on my face.  She even said she had a "great day" and that she had to tell me "something awesome when daddy gets home".

I pulled the mom card and promised not to tell or text daddy ANYthing until she got to tell him, and she caved pretty quickly:)

Apparently on her walk to school she cried out to God.  The God her daddy and mommy always go to on sucky days, or when we are in the valley, or when we are SO grateful for a provision or specific wisdom.  But she didn't pray to our God.  She prayed to HER God.  Her personal heavenly father.  ABBA. El Roi.

She asked God to give her an understanding for long-hand division.
She asked God to help her remember the steps.
She asked God to hear her cry of desperation.

And he answered with a resounding "YES, sweet daughter"!

I can't even explain the joy this moment brought to my heart.

Not because of anything we've done, but because I was blessed enough to witness my daughter make a leap of faith in her God.  The God who counts our tears, listens to our cries, and answers every prayer for our own good.

That is how I want my kids to see our faith.