My Jordan

From the day of his birth, Jordan has had boundless energy. I remember being so exhausted because he absolutely would not sleep for more than two hours at a time as a baby. If ever a child in my care kept me on my toes, it was this one. I baby-sat for years, and still was not prepared for the challenges my firstborn would bring me.

I knew he could be good. After all, he knew to pick up and put his own toys away when he was only six months old. He would make a game out of it and get his toys out just so he could put them away. He could also say words with the "t" sound by six months: that, it, light, what etc.

It took me three whole years to figure out why he would get so ornery at times. Out of sheer desperation for some peace I started doing pre-k work with him when he was three. Even in the pictures I can see how he began to change from that point on. He was slowly becoming a little man. He thrived on learning new things and being busy with a purpose. He also loved a challenge. I often felt like I was not up to the task of staying ahead of him.

He was only three.

He is definitely his father's son.

He is usually the first one up after his Daddy leaves for work. I stay downstairs to read my Bible after Josh leaves, so he has begun thinking up ways to stay quietly busy until the rest of the house is ready to face the day.

One morning very recently, I came upstairs to find that he had thoroughly cleaned out my refrigerator. He took everything out, checked the expiration dates, wiped the interior down from top to bottom and organized it all better than I could have done myself.

Another day he re-organized all the lower cabinets.

The list goes on. He is not afraid of hard work. Like his father, he thrives on productivity.

I had been praying for wisdom in dealing with my kids this morning when he came down to my room in tears. Yesterday we received their new Christian Liberty Press schoolbooks, and he had tried to get started on them to see how much he could finish before I got up. In the one way he is like me, he wanted to get his least favorite subject done first. Handwriting. He does fine with manuscript, but cursive is hard for him.

"Mommy, I just can't do it. I try, and I try, and I just can't. I just fail." he said with heart breaking sobs.

"It's okay, Jordan. Climb up here and sit with me." He came and sat on the edge of Josh's side of the bed.

"It's just a writing lesson, Buddy. There's no sense in being this upset over something so trivial. It's just not worth it."

He stopped crying and just looked at me. Listening.

"Ya' know, the devil often puts thoughts into our heads that are lies. Remember how the devil is the father of lies? Well, he likes nothing better than to get us to think things that are not true. Just now the devil told you that you can't do something. You know that's not true, right?"

Very quietly he said, "Yes."

"We know that's not true because the Bible says that we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us. Remember the other night how we were reading that we are not to be ignorant of the devil's devices? We know he's going to be there all the time trying to trip us up, so what does the Bible command us to do about it?"

His eyes lit up as he said, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you!"

"That's right! But resisting is an action word, isn't it? We can't just sit idly by and tell him to go away. No, we have to put the action behind our words, proving to him that we don't believe his lies. The Bible tells us that we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. Not we 'will be' more than conquerors, but that we 'are'. Right now. Jesus is right beside you just waiting for you to ask Him for help. He wants nothing more than to help you, but He can't unless you allow Him to. "

He said he wanted to pray, and he asked God to help him not to let the devil win because he didn't want to be a failure, and that he knew he would fail without the Lord's help. It was one of the sweetest prayers I've ever heard.

He went on to do the rest of his schoolwork, setting the handwriting aside until he felt better, and he wrote cursive in the rest of his books almost perfectly! I'm so thankful for a son who strives to do such excellent work. My children teach me so much.