Let me bring you up to speed on the situation at hand. My 10 year old daughter has been invited to a sleepover. It's not just any sleepover, either. Her close friend who lives across the street parttime is hosting this event as part of her birthday celebration. At first glance, I know this seems pretty innocent, and we've certainly allowed her to attend sleepovers in the past. However, there are some concerns that I have for this particular get-together.
First of all, this party is being held at the girl's "other" home, with the mom and step-dad I have never met. The only knowledge I have of this family is that they won't allow their daughter to attend church with my daughter because they don't want her to learn about God. On top of that, they are planning to watch a movie that I don't feel is appropriate for my 10 year old daughter. I know, I know, the answer seems so clear-cut—don't let her go.
Why is it so easy to see a solution when you're looking in from the outside and yet so difficult when you're in the midst of it?
If only it were that easy. You see, while this young lady stays in our neck of the woods (at her dad's house), she's been able to spend time with our family. In fact, I am pretty sure that we're the only Christian influence she has had in her young life. I have just become concerned lately that she is influencing my daughter negatively more than my daughter is having a positive influence on her. While sleepovers are supposed to be good, clean fun, that is not always the case, and I don't want this single event to leave a stain on my daughter's memory, heart—life—that she cannot get rid of.
I know what needs to be done. Now, I need to determine how to best approach this situation. Will my daughter understand? If I show her scripture to back me up, will it prove my point or make her resent the Bible? Will she harbor bitterness towards me for this decision? What to do...
(6 hours later)
Isn't it amazing how gracefully life can be orchestrated sometimes? After pouring out my heart here—and praying yet again about this situation—God presented me with this window of opportunity in which to speak to my daughter openly about the sleepover.
We were both in good spirits, making chocolate chip cookies to share with her group at church tonight. I felt prompted to make my appeal. Before I could even get to my main point, however, she said to me, " I think I know what you're going to say." And she did. She knew that I did not want her to attend the sleepover, and even more amazingly, she understood exactly why I didn't feel comfortable having her there.
What an opportunity to talk about how our desires as a Christian should first be to please God in every area of our life. (We had just discussed this in service last Sunday.) With a maturity not always evident in my young tweener, she recognized that choosing to please God with her life is more important than finding pleasure in the moment or giving in to peer pressure by friends. Not only was I immensely proud of my daughter at that moment, but I was also reminded of the importance of putting God first in ALL things in my own life.
Would you believe that her girlfriend called literally minutes later? My daughter graciously told her friend that she wouldn't be able to make it, and the call was ended. Relief flooded my heart, not because it was finally over, but because of the lesson we both learned through this experience. I also recognized that, while I can learn a lot from reading others' stories, life lessons that I live out will teach me much more than anything I have ever read about in someone else's dilemma.
No comments:
Post a Comment