Give Me Strength

Yesterday Tyler passed another hurdle, and this was a BIG one. But of course I have to back up and give you the details leading up to the hurdle, so grab yourself a cup of . . . whatever it is that you drink, and settle yourself in.

Friday afternoon Randy and Rick (from church) went to pick up our new refrigerator. Someone had put Randy on to the Sears Parts and Repair store--not an outlet store, simply a parts/repair place that has floor space for a few models of fridges, TVs, stereo and lawn equipment, etc. We have been wanting a second refrigerator that could go in the garage for a while now, because our family of six had outgrown the one we bought when Randy and I got married. Not only that, but our current fridge is one of those big, boxy things with the freezer on the bottom, and it's fairly deep so we were unable to use one cabinet and drawer due to its bulk.

So last week we went over to the Parts store and looked at the floor models--strictly scratch and dent stuff. I have to admit I was merely along for the ride. I did not seriously expect to find a counter-depth refrigerator that was appropriate for us. And . . . there it was. The refrigerator made specifically for this house. For this kitchen. Destiny played a hand. But what does a new refrigerator have to do with a hurdle that Tyler crossed, you ask? I'm getting there, I'm getting there--don't rush me!

When Randy and Rick got back to the house, there was the small matter of getting the old fridge out to the garage and the new fridge into the house. Without giving you all the boring details, let's just say it involved taking the doors off both the kitchen and the refrigerator. Not really hard, but time-consuming and, yes, messy. Because once the door came off the fridge, most of the stuff that was inside the fridge had to come out. My previously clean, unsullied kitchen was suddenly littered with condiment receptacles, miscellaneous Tupperware containers holding leftovers, gallon milk jugs, pickle jars, water bottles . . . need I go on?

And then there was the not-so-small matter of the kids, who by this time were circling the wagons and sniffing out something to eat like buzzards on a dead carcass. Every time I turned around, there was a kid at my elbow wanting to know, "When's dinner?" At about that time the phone rang and it was another friend from church. Tyler has a good buddy named Hunter who was inviting him to go to the dollar movie and then over to his house for a sleep-over. Amidst all the chaos, even though Tyler was admittedly not contributing to any of it, it sounded like a great idea to me to have one less mouth to feed for a bit. So off he went.

So how late do you suppose two 11/12-year-old boys stay up on Friday night? I don't even want to think about it. Fortunately, they were able to sleep in on Saturday morning, but then they got back to their hard playing and by the time I picked Tyler up around 5:30 Saturday afternoon, I could see him starting to droop. Knowing that we would have another busy day on Sunday, my plan was to get Tyler home, get him fed, and then get everybody into bed early, if possible. Unfortunately, I did not consult with Randy so I did not know that he had other plans. Duh-duh-DUHHHHHH!

At church, we are in the midst of a 40-day prayer challenge (something we also did at Southwestern in OH) and it is the coolest, most goosebump-raising, life-altering thing . . . seeing and being a part of a challenge to become a "praying church," watching as Woodland West is transformed into a literal "house of prayer." For the last two weeks we have instituted a time of prayer in the assembly where, rather than necessarily responding to the preacher's message, everyone is invited to come forward, if they are so moved, to pray with and be prayed over by an elder. Yesterday we had a specific day of prayer and blessing for children and finally, FINALLY, this is where Tyler comes in!

Back to Saturday night . . . I discovered that, in keeping with the children's theme, Randy wanted Tyler to read the opening Scripture in the assembly yesterday. Okay, have I mentioned that Woodland West is quite a bit larger than Southwestern? And have I further mentioned that the only "public" act of worship Tyler has ever participated in was to lead one song back in OH, and that was on a Sunday night when there might have been all of 30 people there? Well, he did also read a scripture at a youth rally one time, but that was just a bunch of kids. This was on a whole other level, in Tyler's estimation, and NO WAY, NO HOW was he going to get up and read a Scripture in front of everybody at Woodland West!

I told you the story about the sleepover on Friday night because I wanted you to understand where Tyler was coming from on Saturday night--he was tired, he was groggy, he just wanted to wind down and BAM! Suddenly he's being asked to do something WAAAAAAY out of his comfort zone. He dug in his heels and said, "No, no, no!" I could hear the conversation all the way downstairs as I was getting dinner ready that night, and it hit me how absolutely perfect this opportunity would be for Tyler. It's sometimes hard to incorporate younger boys into the worship assembly, but seeing as the whole message was going to be about us needing to change and become like little children, I suddenly felt VERY strongly that we couldn't let this opportunity pass.

I quietly made my way upstairs and settled myself down where Randy was trying vainly to talk Tyler into reconsidering. I listened to him to a few moments and then I looked at him as if to say, "Step back and watch the master at work." No, I'm just kidding about that. But I've said it before and I'll say it again--I do have a way with Tyler. He and I are very close and I can occasionally reason with him in a way that just doesn't work for Randy. I think Randy realized this was one of those moments and he excused himself and went downstairs to finish getting dinner ready.

More than anything, Tyler simply had a fear of getting up in front of hundreds of people. I reassured him that no one, NO ONE, would be looking for an excuse to laugh at or make fun of him, and I further reminded him that he didn't have to make any "original" remarks--he merely needed to read the Scriptures from his Bible. I told him that he is "the church of the future" and that he would be an example for a lot of men who are even older than him but who have a fear of public speaking. I said a lot of other deep, meaningful things (ha ha) and then I threw in the clincher--"Do it for me," I asked him. "Okay, I'll do it." YES!

I fell asleep Saturday night praying for Tyler, and my prayers resumed Sunday morning. I made sure to tell him that I had been praying for him, asking God to give him strength, courage and confidence, and he just smiled and hugged me before he left to go to the church building with his dad. When we got to the building, Tyler was already sitting down front, and when he got his cue he made his way up to the podium. There was a slight hesitation on his part--he seemed to think the microphone wasn't on but it was just pushed up too high for him--and then he clearly and resolutely announced that he would be "reading from the Word of God in Deuteronomy chapter 6, verses 4 through 7." I will confess, I worried about him stumbling because of that STUPID palate expander that has taken over his mouth--praise the Lord that it's being removed in two months!!--but he was AWESOME. You should have heard all the "Amens" when he was finished--not for Tyler per se, but because this young boy was serving the Lord. And I know, I know, it's just a scripture reading, but this was HUGE for Tyler. We all know that you do something like this enough times and pretty soon it becomes second nature; well, this was a first for Tyler, at least at Woodland West, but I pray it will not be the last!