One day a week, I take the kids to Knoxville – two hours from where we live, both ways. We spend four hours there. After my son’s soccer practice and violin lesson, it’s off to the Adventurer Club (scouting with a Christian component).
By the time we return, I am exhausted. The kids are exhausted. They get silly and loud in the car. “Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin,” says Paul in Hebrews 12:4. I keep calm, by God’s grace.
Last week, as I turned onto our street, I whispered one more tired prayer for patience. I tried to remember the raccoon devotional the pastor had shared with the kids. Then I saw it: a baby raccoon stopped in the middle of the road. It turned toward my car and stared at me. I brought the car to a full stop. I asked the kids to come to the front to see the baby raccoon. It walked a few steps, limping. The kids went, “Awwww…”
The raccoon stopped again, still in the road. It turned toward my car and looked into the headlights again, as if to make sure we saw him. Then, he scuttled into the ditch, with a limp.
The kids were touched. They stopped the noise as they talked about the baby raccoon with each other. Then, it dawned on me: this was another raccoon devotional. God put that raccoon there – a hurt baby – to remind me how vulnerable my children are and how careful I need to be as I guide them. How I need to come to a full stop and look at them – really look at them – and see they act a certain way for a reason.
I felt encouraged in my role as a homeschooling mom. I can only hope this story encourages you, too.
