Go Ahead and Pray – It’s a Copout!

My heart has been heavy the past few weeks because of the confusion that is currently happening at the George E. Peters Seventh-day Adventist School.  I don’t know what it is about Adventist education, but we have a hard time getting it right.  And I am tired of us being the “tail” and not the “head”.

I struggled when deciding to send Jalen to GEP.  I decided to mostly because we are an “Adventist education” family.  My siblings and I matriculated from Adventist schools from elementary to tertiary.  Same for my husband’s siblings.  There were problems (some very serious) at each level.  Everyone knew this, but the prevailing sentiment was, “Don’t worry; God will take care of it.”

THIS.  IS.  A. COP-OUT.

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Surviving Sixth Grade

Jalen and me – December 2018 (Trinidad)

We are nearing the end of sixth grade, and I’d like to share some things I’ve learned along the way.  This year has been a STRUGGLE.  Jalen has been frustrated, his father, teachers and I have been frustrated – it’s been a mess.  I’ve cried, gotten angry, cried some more and realized now, looking back, that I’ve also spoken things into my child that didn’t do him any good.

I’ve learned so many things about me and things about Jalen this year – and for those of you who may be struggling with a middle schooler, hopefully this may be helpful to you.

1.  I am not alone in the struggle.  What I am going through is not unique to me.  I’ve realized that just about everyone with a child older than sixth-grade age faced some or all of the things I’ve looked at this year – and made it through!  I am not the recipient of some “brand-new-to-the-universe” problem.  There are lots of people who can say, “Been there; done that”.  I need to get over myself.

Shut Up!!

Yesterday I called my parents to see how the boys were doing, and Jalen couldn’t wait to get on the phone.  “Mommy,” he said excitedly.  “Guess what?  I got second place for my STEM project!”

And the first thing I almost said – the sentence had already formed in my brain, but I somehow stopped myself from actually saying the words – was, “Who came first?”