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ON OUR WAY...TO THE PROMISED LAND
by Suellen Fry It was my son Nicks' last day of school. The children scurried to the table where his teacher was busy scooping chocolate chip ice cream into yellow plastic cups."Has everyone got their ice cream?" , she shouted from across the room. Some of his class mates were playing games on the computer; others were in a corner signing a large piece of chart paper created for Nick explaining what they liked about him, while the remaining crew stood near his desk watching as he was busy cleaning it out. "Mom, I don't know if I can do this," Nick said, as he looked up at me with uncertainty in his blue eyes. "I know this all feels a little weird huh? But sonwe can do this. My tummy feels weird too, perhaps a little scared. But this is also an exciting time for us! Anddon't you know- we are going to have a ball?" I replied. Feeling a little bit more reassured, my brave blond haired boy gave me a half moon smile and finished unloading his desk. A couple of his buddies leaned over his desk and patted him on the back wishing it were them that were embarking on this wonderful journey. Walking down the hall at 3:00 was probably even more emotional for me than my own kid. As we strolled down the side walk, a couple of teachers hugged my neck and I began to cry. "You are a great mom, you are going to do fine, and Nick is going to do great too, although we will all miss him," said one of his teachers as she wrapped her arms around me. There were many hugs and happy good-byes that afternoon. Andas I walked away from my son's second grade classroom; as I walked off the school property that day ...I knew- I was blessed. And just like Mrs. Canady said, Nick and I were going to do fine! You know, change isn't the easiest thing for us to do. We become so tangled up in "tradition" that even God himself can't reach us. I started thinking a few months back"If I could think outside myself and begin to let go of my traditional ways of thinking, perhaps I would hear the Lord's instructions for my journey." So- that my friends, is exactly what I did and am still attempting to dothrow away tradition! After all, where has tradition gotten me all these years? Nowhere. Literallynowhere. I don't know about other folks, but I was promised a better way. My forefathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were promised a better way. I am their descendent so that promise is automatically handed down to me. Nowit is my job to hear the Lord's instructions. If I am too busy webbed in tradition, then I might miss the boat to the "Promised Land." As for me...I'm on my way. This is only the beginning of God's promise to me and my family. So when the Lord instructs...I become teachable. Monday is a new beginning for my son Nick and I. Instead of waking him up at the traditional time of 7:45 AM, I will allow him to sleep, just a little later. We will wake up, share a nice breakfast together, and begin our journey into the land of home schooling. Andbecause I chose to leave tradition behind-the Lord opened up another door for me. He has blessed me once again. He has given me an awesome opportunity to spend time with my boy. He has given me this time to learn, to grow, and to allow other blessings to shower upon this family. We are on our wayto the Promised Land! And I will multiply your descendents as the stars of heaven, And he will give your descendents all these lands; And by your descendents all the nations of the earth Shall be blessed. (Genesis 26:4 ) Suellen Fry-Washington was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1957. She now resides in Bradenton, Florida with her and 8 year old son. As an aspiring Christian writer she hopes that her stories will touch someone's heart and perhaps change the direction of someone's life! Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |