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1.
Be a Student of What They are Learning
The way we use the word miracle
can be pretty broad. And when our students talk about miracles, it can range
from “Getting through that exam was a miracle” to “I need a miracle for my mom
to be cured of her cancer.” But miracles are about more than just the
supernatural occurrence, whether that’s making the grade or witnessing an
unexplainable healing. A miracle reveals God’s activity, and the greatest
miracle—Jesus’ resurrection—is an invitation to participate in God’s activity by
putting the past behind us and choosing to become a new creation, every day.
2.
Be a Student of Your Student
Miracles
aren’t something we think about in our everyday lives. And for some of us
parents, our biggest miracle may be that we got through the day without a
massive fight with our son or daughter, or simply that our teenager chose to
talk to us at all. But sometimes—every now and then—we truly need something
that feels miraculous—maybe even impossible. And our students sometimes need
that too.
Often
the things our kids want can seem trite, unimportant and petty to us. They want
to find the perfect dress for the upcoming school dance and nothing fits. They
want to make the football team. They want their Spanish teacher to stop giving
homework over the weekends. To them these moments can feel like the end of the
world, even though we know they aren’t really all that important in the greater
scheme of things. But sometimes our students really do need a miracle. Because
their best friend was suddenly diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because your
family is struggling through a recent divorce. Because they are being bullied
at school and can’t seem to find a way out. And in those times, they might be
looking at you and asking, “Why is this happening? Where is the miracle I need
right now?"
When
you’re staring down your teenage son or daughter and the loaded and heavy
question of why starts to rise up,
there is a powerful statement that we want to give you permission to use: “I
don’t know."
Saying
I don’t know may feel like a cop-out. It might feel like you aren’t giving your
student everything they want in that moment. And it’s true, you aren’t. Because
you can’t provide the cure for a rare form of cancer or fix overnight the pain
from a broken family. But you can be present and real with your student in the
midst of tragedy and uncertainty. And most often, this is what they need the
most. It’s what they are looking for and what they are craving. When you make
yourself vulnerable, when you admit that you don’t have it all figured out
either, you allow your student a chance to lean in to your relationship. You
invite them into an opportunity to walk through the difficulty together, on the
same page and with equal footing, standing in the “I don’t know” moment
together.
3.
Action Point
Think
through the following questions and share your answers with your student:
- Has God ever answered something specific that you’ve prayed about?
- Talk about a time when God came through for you?
- Talk about a time when you prayed for God to come through for you and it didn’t happen? How did that feel and what did you do?
- Take this opportunity to pray with your student about somewhere they feel like they need God to intervene in their lives.
Get connected to a wider community of parents at
www.orangeparents.org.
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