You're a Big Kid Now

Mere went to school with her pants on backwards. So typical Mere. Teacher says, "Mere, go to the bathroom and change your pants around."
Sweet, tenderhearted Mere says, "No."

Anyone who knows her teacher, Mrs. G, knows you don't say NO to her!!

Mrs. G said to Mere, "Don't tell me no. I am the boss at school."
Mere - "But I am scared."
Mrs. G - "You are a big kid now, and big kids don't get scared."
Mere - "I know I am a big kid but I still feel scared."

Mrs. G tells me later, "I'm and adult and I still feel scared sometimes!!"

In the end, Mrs. G and Miss K take Mere to the bathroom, wait while she changes her pants around and all is good.

Mere tells me how scared she was, and I think her stubborness was more about the feelings of being scared outweighing her fear of the teacher being mad!

Mrs. G won, but so did Mere. She didn't have to go to the bathroom alone.

It makes me realize how often our responses and actions are based on a deeper issue than what appears on the surface. Our fears can often trigger attitudes and reactions differently than we really want to respond.

There have been many times during this whole International Adoption process when I have been ready to throw in the towel. So much work. So much training. So many papers. So many email. So many phone calls. So much fear.

What if we spend all this money and never get our children because the country closes its doors to adoption? What if we are not approved to adopt from Ethiopia by their governing officers? What if my daughter doesn't want to go with me when it comes right down to it, and I have to face Ethiopia alone? Can I do it?

In the end, I finally have to realize I rely on a much bigger source for security than my fears!! I have the power to do what God has put on our hearts to accomplish, and there are children waiting in a foreign country for us to come get them. I am NOT going to be a prisoner of my fears.

And Mere will continuing to learn that too. Thankfully she has a teacher who loves her and will help her succeed. Kindergarten is full of fearful firsts, and Mere is conquering them, one by one. Me, too.