A Season of Growth

      As many of you know, Tyler broke her finger this fall at the 2nd gym meet of the season.  She broke it during warm-ups of the 3rd event which was floor and did not tell anyone until the meet was over.  That's right.....she competed floor and vault with a broken finger!!!  She is such a trooper and competitor!  Anyways, this set the two of us on a season of growth - as mother and daughter, as caregiver and caretaker and as mentor and mentee.  It has been one of the hardest and sweetest times of my life!  Our relationship has grown in ways that I did not think were imaginable.  God has used our conversations to glorify him which is just plain awesome!

 

                       

 


 

 

 
 

 

     I quickly realized that simple tasks that Tyler had long ago taken ownership of were impossible with a broken finger.  Washing hair, buttoning pants, and tying shoes became things that she "NEEDED" me for -  Not to mention wrapping and unwrapping her finger everyday!  Then there were hours and hours of writing the answers to her homework.  I literally became her hands for 8 weeks - John tried to help out, but Tyler seemed to always insist it be me.  I realized that God was giving me a small glimpse of what some mothers have to do day in and day out for their children not just for 8 weeks, but forever!!  I can honestly say that group became a specific prayer for me day in and day out as I knew my situation was temporary and theirs is not.  I also knew as a mother there was nowhere else I would rather be and knew that was the desire of those mothers as well - no matter how hard it was.

     After 8 weeks of no gym, Tyler was finally released to return to gym - what a joyous day for all of us!!!  The excitement and the joy of that day were short lived as fear crept into her head and literally paralyzed her regarding some skills.  The fear was of just getting hurt in general. As a mom - my heart was broken and as tears streamed down my face I told Tyler there was only one person who could remove the fear in her life.  I asked her if she knew who that was and she said - Yes. God.   We decided to declare war on fear and dug deep into the Bible for guidance and affirmation.  I reached out to my strongest prayer partners with specific prayer requests.  Three verses literally fell into our lap in regards to fear and Tyler has clung to these verses.  They are her new favorites and she has all 3 memorized.  Oh how God worked on our prayer lives through this - both together and individually!  Oh how God worked on me as a parent during this time to realize the important stuff - which isn't always winning a medal - sometimes it is winning the battle against fear! 
    So here we stand - the day before she competes at state meet.  This gym season has consisted of 6 gym meets.  Of those 6 - Tyler has competed all 4 events at 1 of them.....could the devil work on our hearts and heads and invoke some doubt and fear - of course, but this time we have declared war on all negative thoughts.  In just a few weeks time, I have literally watched Tyler transform back into the confident gymnast she was before.  Will that insure us a win?  Maybe not a place on the awards stand, but in the game of life - you betcha!
     I asked Tyler what she thought God had taught her through this difficult experience on the day she was released.  She smiled and said - how much I love gym! I said anything else - she said yes - to be patient and wait for his time and to pray for specifics!  WOW!  As we close out gym season, I realize that no matter what happens on the floor, beam, bars or vault tomorrow - God has won the battle and has begun an AWESOME work in Tyler!  I know he will be faithful to complete it......now I must practice patience to see the final product!