Sacrifice

I stood before my kids at the dining room table dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, my face devoid of make-up and my feet bare.  My voice may have been louder than I would have liked, but my passion about the subject seemed to demand it.  This was a no-holes-barred moment. 

It was the second day of homeschool, year 2 and we were finally where we had dreamed and prayed about being----home.  I had heard a mumble about school and it may have pushed me to my stance at the end of the table.  We had come too far to grumble.  We had trudged too many miles to say our feet were sore, our backs ached, the rain bothered us, the temperature wasn't right, or the destination was too far.  No, I was having none of that. 

So, I stood there and said something like this:

This is it.  We've all been on this journey together.  And I will not have any can't do, won't do, whining about it.  I need to know TODAY where you are in this journey.  Are you on it?  Or not?  Because I'm not forcing you to be here.  You have a choice.  All of us have sacrificed too much to be here to turn around now, but you have the choice.  I have sacrificed.  You have sacrificed.  Have you sacrificed?

They nod their heads in assent.  But, I'm serious and they know it.  We have all sacrificed because that's how this thing called life goes.

Eat the brownie and sacrifice the two pounds you just lost.  Exercise and sacrifice your knees.  Buy a new car and sacrifice money.  Send your kid to the sitter and sacrifice peace of mind.  Keep your kids at home and sacrifice their social life. 

But, then there is the payoff.  Eat the brownie and feel the warmth of its goodness.  Exercise and feel your body grow stronger.  Send your kids to the sitter and see them loved by someone.  Keep your kids home and nurture the familial bond.

It's all there, this ebb and flow of choices.  We know it well.

And in my plea to them, I ask them who has sacrificed the most for us?

They whisper, "Jesus" and tears slip down their cheeks.  They know.  They understand with some small clarity, sacrifice.

I nod.  Jesus could have walked away, called a legion of angels, refused to do the work He was sent to do.  He could have refused a humiliating death, given in to the temptation of Satan, never felt the separation from God, but He didn't.  He looked past that momentary sacrifice and saw something much greater----us.  He took that long look to eternity and saw the opportunity to reconcile you and me and our kids.  He made a choice and taught us all about sacrifice that is momentarily difficult, but once you walk through it and make the decision becomes sweet and sweeter still.

I'm not on this journey alone.  I have a whole team with me and the biggest part of my team is my kids.  They know they have a choice.  This journey is not new for us, we've been walking it a long time, trudging along to get to this point. 

And when I heard the first rumbling from the troops, I knew a swift nip in the bud was required.  They needed to settle it in their minds--not for me, but for them.

Later, as they studied French and I heard my boy announce his "streak" of correct answers, I smiled.

Why?  Because he hates studying French and would sneak out of it if he could, but he made a choice today.  His sister has always had the choice settled in her mind, but for him a life without any schooling seems a better choice.  And that is the greatest thing I feel that I can teach him.  Learning is hard, it requires sacrifice.  But, once you stretch your mind to it, it becomes sweet and sweeter still. 

Sacrifice was taught to us at the hands of a loving God and if I have learned anything, it is that sacrifice always grows you and always brings you closer to the destination.

I'm glad to have the opportunity to teach my children about sacrifice, but I'm more blessed to be able to show them the rewards of the sacrifice given on the altar of serving our Lord.  Because it's this sacrifice that allows us to walk closer and closer to our Father.  And that's the journey I desire to be on with all my heart.