Lesson from a little lamb

The other night Marisa and I experienced a moment of profound parental pride.

Emmaus (like his daddy when he was a child) is a shy kid. You’d never know that if you were to witness him at home, but outside of his comfort zone is another story. As such, Marisa and I enrolled him in 3K this year almost exclusively for the socialization piece. It’s been so fun to watch him come out of his shell a bit throughout this year and take some big steps forward. One of those huge steps came the other night.

Just before Christmas all of the classes at the school took part in a concert. For the preschoolers that meant leaving their parents briefly to kick off the concert by singing a couple of festive songs. Although Emmaus wanted to go to the concert, when the time came for him to join his class up front he decided not to go up (which we were expecting). We felt he wasn’t ready at that point so we were just happy that he wanted to attend the concert.

This past weekend, however, provided another opportunity with the spring concert. We had been talking about the concert with him, and while he wanted to go and even wear his lambie ears, he was clear that he did not want to go up front. We remained hopeful that perhaps he’d change his mind once he got there, as he had gone through the rehearsal with his class with no problems, yet we were expecting that he’d likely opt out again. Just as with the Christmas concert, the preschoolers would be kicking off the concert with a song, “Mary had a little lamb,” but this time his class would be gathering in the back of the church and then walking up together. Emmaus gathered with his class for a pre-concert photo (with a nervously forced smile plastered on his face), and then they all lined up to make the long journey down the center aisle of the church. Since he hadn’t yet bailed out and seemed to be hanging with his classmates, Marisa, Grayson and I made our presence a bit discreet in hopes that he might actually join them all in heading up front. As they headed down the center aisle Emmaus found himself in the very back, and we watched as our brave little boy nervously brought up the rear. Marisa and I shared with each other after the fact that both of our hearts were beating out of our chests in those moments. I recall my first instinct wanting to be to run up alongside him and calm his fears, but I refrained knowing that our shy little guy was taking huge personal strides with every step down that aisle. Once up on stage, his teacher (dressed as Mary from the nursery rhyme) knowing how huge this was for him, took hold of his hand and proceeded to walk him around in a circle (they were supposed to be followed by the other little lambs, but they had clearly forgotten that part). He remained on stage throughout the remainder of the song, and although he never opened his mouth to join the other lambs in singing, this was a huge moment for our son. And we, his parents, were beaming with pride for him.

As I reflect on that experience, I realize that I’ve once again been taught an incredible faith lesson from my child. You see, there are times in all of our lives when we find ourselves faced with challenging, painful, or even downright terrifying situations, and in those moments we may feel like we’re walking all alone. I have no doubt that in those moments God could rush in and remove us from those situations, but if He did we would never truly grow. Now that’s not to suggest that God leads us into all of those situations, nor at all to imply that God is absent when we go through them. Just as I knew I needed to hang back in order to allow Emmaus to take those strides, I believe God does the same as He too lovingly roots for us as we step out of our comfort zones for the sake of His Kingdom. I’m convinced that just as Marisa and I felt as though our hearts might burst out of our chests in that moment, the same is true of God’s heart in those moments when He knows we’re suffering or afraid. And when we overcome our fears and step out in faith in order to take huge strides for His glory, the pride we felt as parents pales in comparison to the pride of our Father.

So just as our dear Emmaus bravely stepped out of his comfort zone to make that long walk down the center aisle, may we be so bold as to step out of our comfort zones to follow Jesus wherever He desires to lead us.