Flourishing Faith - Week 12
In the last Flourishing Faith newsletter I shared a story about my oldest son Wilson and his immediate response to pray during an emergency. Today I want to talk about something I learned from my youngest son, Levi. Levi is VERY competitive and a perfectionist. He just started "kid" pitch in baseball and is finishing out Elementary school (3rd grade) and will soon be at the Intermediate school.
Lately, he has been getting in trouble at school and having lots of meltdowns at home. I met with his concerned teacher and we both realized something has to be going on. We noticed continual negative self-talk and have watched him be so hard on himself. Ryan and I sat him and down and had a long talk with him. But that night as I put him to bed, he broke down. He told me that he was tired and always felt like a failure. He said he wasn't good at anything. He was very upset. I took time to cuddle and share with him that he has to stop "striving" to be the best at everything and stop looking at any mistakes like it's the end of the world. I explained to him that he is a growing boy and the most important thing is to relax and HAVE FUN (with sports and school).
I told him there will always be times we mess up or make errors but we have to depend on God. I taught Him how to talk to God when he feels discouraged and to ask Him for strength. I told him that being a positive leader at school and home is way more important than being the top A student and best player. I could feel his body relax as we talked more about God's peace and strength. The last week has been a little better.
As I have been walking Levi through this, I could feel myself feel relieved. I too had been depending on my own strength with parenting and work. Levi and I are learning lessons together. And I feel like there is somebody else that needs to hear this too! I see you, I am praying for you and I want to remind you to lean into God's Word and talk to Him. Release those negative feelings or self-talk to God and replace them with His Love!
Prayer of the week:
Lord, thank you for always having the strength and being there for me. I pray you continue to teach me to handle my emotions when I mess up and help me give you the feeling in exchange for your love and peace. Help me lean into your Word more this week.Help me hide your Word in my heart and be light out in the dark world.In Jesus name,
Scripture of the week:
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:10
Tool of the week:
The only way we can learn to lean into God's strength in our weakness and not let the enemy make us feel like a failure is to read His Word. Google Scriptures on depending on God and leaning on His strength and write them down. Read and repeat those each day. Ask the Lord to help you with your emotions and calm your spirit!