It's the end of the first month of school, and William's teacher has already called me 3 times saying things like, "Will is talking in class, zoning out, not following directions, doesn’t keep up with his stuff.... " I am checking the internet for ADD symptoms and getting paranoid and frustrated with him. Then, last week three things happened in one day that God used to open my eyes:
Scene 1: I am in the car-pool line waiting for the kids to come out from school. Katia comes running out, but no William. The dismissal teacher pages him again as cars behind me start to honk. Finally, William comes running out getting scolded loudly in Russian for being late, just like the children’s book Ping as he gets spanked for being the last duck back on the ship. As he climbs in the car, I ask why he is late. He says, “Mom, I was the hall monitor today and there was a second grader who had like 4 knots tied in his shoe laces. I had to help him get his shoes on so he wouldn’t be late for his bus.” What a picture of Christ’s love, taking our punishment for us.
Scene 2: We get home and Will pulls a package of seaweed out of his backpack. I asked where he got it and he said, “I bought it from the Korean girls at lunch so I can make my own sushi”. I said, “Since when have you sat with girls at lunch?” He replied, “Since they started sharing their food with us. I just love Korean food” and proceeded to destroy my kitchen rolling his own sushi! Just think of all the world’s problems that would be solved if all of us were able to withstand peer-pressure in the lunch room and choose who we sat with not based on gender, race, or religion, but on who had the best lunch!
Scene 3: Later that evening, Katia was playing on their computer when a Skype call came in. It was Will’s best friend, Christian, calling from Holland. (His family is there this semester, seeing their oldest off to college). I overhear Will and Christian analyzing the differences between the educational systems of Holland, Ukraine, and the U.S.
Then it hit me. I thought, if William were 25 and interviewing for a job with some multi-national company, he’d be hired in a minute. Just think, he demonstrates servant leadership, uses the latest computer technology to communicate across the globe, has years of experience working with people from many cultures, and can list as hobbies – rolling sushi and reading Russian literature! Alas, he is not 25, he is in 5th grade where skills like sitting quietly, doing your work neatly, and following instructions are valued! Don’t get me wrong, Will certainly needs to improve these disciplines, but the Lord showed me that in the bigger picture of life, for whatever purpose God is preparing him for, William will be just fine. I just need to chill and wait until his life circumstances catch up with his interests. In the mean time, I’ll keep sprouting more grey hairs, enduring being honked at in the car-pool line, and humbly answering the phone (his teacher is on my caller ID), all in the hope that he makes it out of 5th grade.
