Refining With Fire

Sometimes I feel like I am a failure.

I often second guess the decisions I have made for my family. My heart is to always follow God's will, but the choices we make are often made with a "please turn me around if I'm going the wrong direction" mentality. I mean, it's so hard to know if we are REALLY doing what he wants us to.

I've had a difficult time with my oldest child lately. OK, I'm just going to be real here, I've ALWAYS had a difficult time with my oldest daughter. She is extremely bright, very beautiful, painfully strong willed, and has a rebellious streak. Every boundary has to be tested, beat up and destroyed.

These last few weeks it seems like it's been a war zone with her. The girl gets great grades, and is well behaved at school, but at home she is a "mouthy" rule breaker.

As if that wasn't bad enough, she told us she didn't believe in "our" God. She wants nothing to do with family prayer time, and only goes to church because we force her.

My only true goal for my children is that they know Christ. I hope for success, and friends, etc. but in the end; Christ is all that matters. This new development has devastated me beyond words. Failure.

Leave it to God to bring hope out of darkness....

Yesterday my daughter came home from school in tears. Between sobs she told me how her friend L**** had been bullied at school that day.

From helping out at the school I am familiar with this boy. His family fled Mexico two years ago for America to seek help for their very sick daughter. She is terminally ill. She will be the second sister L**** has lost. L**** is a tall, very handsome boy, who is quiet and kind, and learning English quickly. While our neighboring community has a huge Hispanic community, our little town has very few.

According to my daughter, the kids in her 7th grade class decided that L**** needed to go back to Mexico. They called him names. They told him he wasn't wanted here. Then they started kicking him... repeatedly. While they left no bruises, the boy was in tears. My daughter said that teachers saw this.... but did nothing.


With a broken heart she went to comfort L****. She hugged him and encouraged him. At that point the kids decided to call her names (because she was not joining the torture against him I suppose), but she didn't seem to care. She stood up to these kids. She put them in their place and refused to play by their "rules".

She told me that when things had calmed down, L**** pulled a necklace off his chest and pointed to a small figure on the front. "Do you believe in her?" he said as he pointed to Mary. My daughter said, "well, I believe in her son." In broken English he responded "You remind me of her... she heals people, and you are healing me."

When she told me this I explained how highly Catholics revere Mary, and that this was a HUGE compliment. Her tears continued to flow as she asked to be pulled out of school. "Mom, it's so dark there. I just want to be homeschooled."

My initial thought? Oh yes, lets pull her out so she doesn't have to experience all this evil, then a second wave of thought hit me. "Um, Zoe? If you were not at school today, who would have hugged L****?" She was the lone comfort in a dark day for this boy... enough to make something horrible bearable. With more tears (both of us) she lifted her head and said "you're right, I know that God has this purpose for me at this school, sometimes it's just so hard, but I know it's what I'm supposed to do."

I am so proud of her it hurts! This evening she has a terrible attitude. She yelled at he sister, back talked and slammed her door.

Yes, she is in trouble.

But right now, I don't feel like such a failure.

Maybe God DOES have big plans for this strong willed, rebellious child after all.


See, I have refined you, though not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. Isaiah 48:10