God Works, Part Two

Those two days of waiting-- for the rest of the story--were unintentional on my part, but they are a perfect representation of the two weeks we spent waiting and praying while the kids were away at camp! No cell phones were allowed, just good old-fashioned pencil and paper, and we only received one brief letter from each while they were gone.

Blondechick16 and Bantam14 returned from Honey Rock camp with hearts reawakened. Both spoke of "going way deeper" in their relationship with the Lord, and in their desire to live the Christian life in a more committed way. Blondechick said that she "got it" about her non-Christian boyfriend (meaning she now shared our concern). You can just imagine our joy, as parents!

Papa Rooster told me more about his talks with their counselors, on the day he arrived to pick them up. Both had many positive things to say, and both had the same suggestion for their continued spiritual growth: They need more Christian friends.

So our thoughts about sending them to the Christian school were confirmed. Yet when we brought the subject up again with Blondechick, she stuck to her position: She wanted to stay at the charter school, mainly because of her best friend.

The next day, the best friend said that actually, her mom had at one point wanted to send her to the Christian school, and she would ask to go there too! After that news and a tour of the high school, Blondechick became a lot more interested. Meanwhile, she also began a series of talks with her boyfriend in which they discussed her Christian faith in great depth.

After a couple more days of dialogue (and prayer on her parents' part), Blondechick sounded willing to be forced to transfer to the Christian high school, and within a day, she was owning the decision. The boyfriend was upset but quickly resigned himself. Her best friend isn't going to be able to go yet, but maybe second semester or next year.

We had to have placement testing and an interview before they were officially accepted, and for her writing sample, Blondechick wrote candidly about her transforming experience at camp. She and Bantam14 answered the principal's interview questions with surprising (to me) frankness and openness. It was clear that they are spiritually in a very good place!

Blondechick and her boyfriend decided they could still hang out and enjoy their good friendship until school starts, at least. They continue to talk about her faith in Christ. He came to church with her once before she went to camp, and he was visibly affected; he even said so. So who knows what seeds are being planted in this young man's heart and mind?

One thing that Blondechick thought she would have to give up if she went to the Christian high school was a musical production she already was cast in, through the Kenosha Unified School District's Fine Arts program. Actually, she was cast in two projects, but she knew she was going to have to back out of one (a one-act play) anyway. In the other, both she and her good friend from our church were cast as Doo-Wop Girls (a lead part) in Little Shop of Horrors, and it was a big disappointment to have to notify the director that she would no longer be in KUSD.

Imagine her delight, after she had resigned herself to giving up both opportunities, to learn from the director that even though she would be attending a private school, she could remain in the productions if she wished!

In so many ways, we have seen God working all things together for good, even in things that didn't immediately seem good, like the boyfriend and the doors closing to Africa. We have seen God "give back" what we had given up, like her role in the musical and Honey Rock instead of Africa. We have seen God give more than we could ask or imagine, like the life-changing experience that both kids had at camp. Praise Him!