Well..maybe he doesn’t “hate” school, but he’s not happy about going everyday. In fact he thinks he’s missing something great that happens at home everyday, when he leaves to go to kindergarten. We’ve assured him that he isn’t missing anything special at home, in fact we think he will have more fun at school each day than what my wife could provide for him at our house. We also know that school is not only important for his development, but essential for him to experience for him to grow and mature. Although he may beg my wife to let him stay home, we know the reward coming to him is much better than us allowing him to give up (plus I’m pretty sure we would be in trouble if he didn’t go to school).

This got me thinking about God and the way he treats us. How many times have we begged and pleaded with God to give us a new job, bring us our mate, make us rich, heal us or even help us though a certain trial? But just like we as parents know a lot more than my son does, God knows much more than we can ever know at any given time. He knows the importance of us going through certain trails, if only for the fact that we can grow and mature. Although we only see the immediate, God sees the whole picture, and even more importantly, the end result. He knows the lessons we need to learn and the experiences we need to go through, so that we can become the men and women we long to be. James 1:2-5 speaks directly to this.

Next time you find yourself begging God to let you take the easy way out, or possibly just asking him for an answer to prayer that seems like it’s never coming, remember that God knows a lot more than you do. Not only is God’s timing perfect, but so are his “parenting skills”. He knows that trails produce maturity. So remember the very lesson you need to learn, might in fact help you graduate to 1st grade and beyond.

M