Got Teacher?

My child is a goober! Which one you ask? Fair question. If you have met any of my children you would have the right at any given moment to ask, "Which of those Mowdy kids are not goofy?" Today, however, I am speaking of my baby-child, Dylan. 


He goes by many names, Dylard to me, Doofus to his sisters and Uncle Dish to his precious little niece. He is often called Dakota because naming your children with alliterated monikers creates parental confusion. He hates being called Dakota. Fair enough. He is not Dakota.

He looks like his father and his sister; both of which have no genetic ties because he is adopted into our family. He acts a lot like me (sigh) and sometimes his Dad. He looks nor acts anything like his biological Mom. Nurture is a powerful force. 

Why do I feel the need to tell you about this handsome goober child? Because in pondering life's realities I find so many of them wrapped up in him. 

He is not perfect.
God may have started out with perfect plans but by the time Dylan made it into this world, he emerged with some imperfections. He has flat feet, two uvulas (the punching bag thingy in the back of your throat) and dimples in his lips. (I will spare you pictures) He didn't cause these imperfections. People with a long list of letters behind their names blame a genetic condition but genetics mean it started somewhere; a long, forgone brokenness in someone's genetic code. He is not perfect but he knows that with God in him he is perfect as he is. And his momma thinks lip dimples are cute. His imperfections are no hinderance for him and shouldn't be for us either. I wonder what imperfections I allow to hold me back.

He has his own style.
Shouldn't we all? Don't get me wrong, he often insists on having the latest "whatever - whatever" that is what "so-and-so" is wearing. He needs them! But most of the time he takes those things that are part of the sanctioned dress code for the world and twists it and makes it his own. In a world where his Mom is constantly working to make him conform to social norms and peer pressure pushing him even harder, he makes choices that suit him. Being created in God gives us the freedom to be who we feel inside we should be. We should be able to do so without feeling inferior or pressured in someway to be something we are not. Oh but really, camo Sanuks with black crew socks and plaid shorts. It gives me a redneck, grandpa whiplash. But at least he trumps me at being who he feels he needs to be.


Like yourself (selfie.)
Dylan, like every other teenager with a phone, takes selfies. He chronicles life's happenings with backwards camera photos. Sometimes they are serious and often they are funny, but never are the pictures racy or provocative. Many of them may have a recently captured or rescued critter but always they are  Dylan in his goobery glory. How cool is it that he has figured out what so many of us haven't; that we look fine! Hiding from ourselves doesn't make ourselves go away. Go! Look in the mirror, enjoy what you see or change what you don't like. But take the time to take a look at yourself. Looking at yourself is the only way you can know yourself. 



Find a way to make it work for you.
Recently I asked Dylan to clear the table after dinner, put away the left-overs, load the dishes in the dishwasher etc. Typically the request would be followed with the usual litany of "what is Kota going to do", "can't you help", "I hate touching dirty dishes", etc. But this night I caught a glimpse of the man child he is quickly becoming and he starts clearing the table. But then I look up and see this:
He had clipped a clothespin on his ear. Why you ask (You may as well, I did) well because it pinched and he felt that it would motivate him to get the chore done efficiently. He had created a method where he raced his pain tolerance as motivation to stay on task. Granted this method of motivation is quite unorthodox and not something I would  never had suggested, he found a way achieve a goal. His goal? He wants to prove that he is mature and responsible enough to be granted permission for a dirt bike. He has been trying to do all that is asked and do it well and without procrastination; hence the clothespin. He found a way to make a difficult challenge work. Are we willing to think outside the box, try something hard, to get through a personal challenge? Or do we just let life take us over?


Fearlessly use your gifts.
I hate guns. I am sure anyone that nows me, knows this fact. I think they are loud and I have a healthy respect for their power and potential for life-changing consequences if used recklessly. I do not protest the right of anyone to have guns of their own but in my home I have worked hard to keep our home weapon free. The girls never had toy guns until they were pre-teens with super soakers. I tried the same with the boys. From toddlerhood, Dylan used his finger, bananas, or upside-down Barbie legs as make shift pistols. He spent hours in trees with cap rifles "hunting." I caved. What I now realize is that he was trying, against my stifling actions, to use his God given gifts. Dylan has extraordinary eye sight. He has a keen ability to hit most anything he aims at; with a rifle or a pistol. He knew at two. I didn't, or didn't want to. What will this gift bring for him in the future? Who knows. But as you can tell this pistol looks like a natural extension of his hands. He is raked 44th in the nation in trap shooting and his trap squad is ranked 4th. He is good! I want my gifts to be so utilized they seem like a natural extension of who I am and to do what God created me to do. I want to use these gifts so fearlessly that they become who I am not what I do.

This goober is showing me a model of living life in a way that God wants us to live; how we should be and who we should be as we live with God in us. With God's power we will do and be what He desires for us. Look around. Who is teaching you?