When we reassure our kids that our love for them doesn’t waver with their behavior or performance, we lift away a burden from their vulnerable hearts.
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The moment my 10-year-old son Jack grasped the first hold on the rock climbing wall at the regional championship last year, I knew something was wrong. His normally fluid movements were clumsy and hesitant. When he slipped on his first attempt, and then again on his second, I prayed for his heart: Lord, please don’t let this crush his spirit. Please work through this disappointment for his good and your glory.
When Jack learned he didn’t qualify for the next round, tears welled in his eyes. Hours lengthened into days of discussion, often with hugs as we worked through the experience out loud over open Bibles. Finally, one morning, he slid into a chair across from me at the kitchen table, his head tilted to one side thoughtfully. “I realized something, Mom,” he said. “I think God was humbling me through this. I think my ranking held a place in my heart that belonged to him.”
