Never Underestimate the Testimony of Your Children!

I blinked back tears as my 10 year old son once again begged me for piano lessons.  
We simply did not have the money. 

Raising children while living under the US national median income is not for the feint of heart.  It's just plain hard at times.  This was one of those times.

But, I had just read a book called, Raising Kids for True Greatness by Tim Kimmel.  In it, he encouraged parents not to limit what God can do in seemingly impossible situations.  Instead, he urged us to pray with our children and allow God to work.

Holy cow!  This was a challenge!

 

We had to be honest.  We told him that we truly did not have the money to pay for lessons.  But, we also encouraged him that we have a big God, who was more than able to provide if it was His will.  So, we joined hands and prayed.  John went happily off to play, while I sat down to pray in earnest.

"Lord, I know that we just prayed, but I want you to know that I beg you to do a miracle for my son and ensure that he can have the lessons that he wants so badly." 

 Prayer Answered!

Within a week, out of the blue a piano instructor called me.  I had asked her prices for lessons several months before. She began, "Are you still interested in lessons for John and, if so, would you be open to doing a barter?"

"Sure!  What do I have that you want?" I enthusiastically inquired. 

"It's not what you have, but who you have that I want," she replied. 

I was pretty excited, but her answer left me more than a little confused. 

It all became clear as she clarified, "I have seen the way your sons treat one another.  They are kind, gentle, peaceful, and Christlike.  In return for lessons for John, I would like both of your older boys to come to my home once a week and mentor my sons."  She was adopting five young children, who had just lost their mother to cancer.  

She finished by adding, "They need positive peers, so they understand what it means to be a young man who is following God. I just want your boys to spend time with my sons.  Play board games, talk to them, help them with homework.  Be their friend and role model."  

I was in tears - and humbled.  God had answered my prayer because of my own children's own testimony of how to treat one another with love and respect!  I asked James for his consent.  He immediately agreed to give of his time once a week so that his brother could have lessons.  

Then, I was able to tell John that not only had God answered, but He had answered as a specific blessing because of John's own behavior toward others! 

Wow!  His smile was worth more than money could ever provide! 

John's first recital

A year later, we had just enough income to reorganize our budget and fund the lessons.  Interestingly, when I called his instructor to tell her that we were now in a position to pay her for lessons, she responded that she was just going to call me.  It seems that her boys' school schedule had changed and there was no longer time for the weekly mentoring dates.  Once again, it was God's perfect timing. 

Here is a piece that John co-wrote and performed at Bradley University's summer piano camp when he was 14 years old.

John took lessons over the next several years.   I rarely had to remind him to practice the piano. He loved it!  He is now a young adult and still plays the piano and every time his fingers touch the keys he remembers how God personally reached down and answered his heart's desire.

Let your children know that God can use them and use their lives to bless others!  

Remember,

Do all to the glory of God, 

Hope