The Glorious Unfolding in the Journey

This is a long post....

But so was the last six months.

There is a lot that has happened.

This is a snapshot of mine and Wesley's last six months. 

This was the place of such a mess, but that was not my main concern. What we did at that table with the chairs on either side was a place the Lord was allowing us to take a "mess" and begin to make it "straight."

 

Six days a week.

Two days a week at the training center with his trainer for 90 minutes at a time. 

Four days a week at home for an hour + at a time.

There were things missed in the social parts of life because we had to train.

There were moments of frustration.

There were moments of triumph.

 

But this table and these two chairs are special to this Momma's heart.

We laughed a lot here.

We got on each other's nerves here.

We struggled to be happy over our circumstances at times here.

We had some wonderful conversations here.

There was GROWTH here.

The metronome and timers were sometimes our friends - and sometimes not. 

They made us stretch ourselves in ways we had never been stretched before.

But no matter what we clung to this promise the Lord gave me when we began this journey.

You see, being a teacher is what I do. However, I was walking into this not knowing or understanding a thing of what we would accomplish. For the past six months we literally walked by faith and not always by sight.

Watching Wesley begin to grasp things right in front of our eyes was amazing to see unfold. We knew everything would not be "fixed" in all of this - he had too far to come in a lot of areas. However, the Lord revealed to me that His meaning of the verses He gave to me were not that all of Wesley's academic areas were where we would see Him work "far more abundantly."

Here is why:

Wes and I both grew spiritually - and it was wonderful to walk through this together. We created a bond that is hard to describe. It gave me a chance to minister to Him with what the Lord was teaching me through this process.  

Some days were real and raw. 

Some days we both wanted to quit. 

Some days we did all we could to complete the goal for the day because we both were so exhausted. 

Some days we both had to cheer on each other when we knew we had to train. 

BUT 

There were the days of accomplishments and triumphs. 

There were the moments of beating his own time record or finally "getting" an exercise he had struggled with for so long. 

There were awakenings in his knowledge. 

There were improvements in his retention.

Far more abundantly, in this program, the Lord taught Wesley:
GRIT. 
Determination.
Perseverance.
Focus.

That is something that has to be learned through trial and "fire."  It is easy to say something is too hard and just quit. He learned that failure does not mean it is over. He learned that failure means you tried and you get back up and keep trying again - and again - and again.


We officially finished the week of July 9 but the waiting was still part of the process. He had to be re-tested and then we could get the final results.

I will be the first to admit that those 2 weeks were long in the waiting process, but the Lord showed me great things in that waiting period.

Allow me to share:
I have been in II Chronicles 20 for some time this summer. If you don't know much about that passage let me give you a synopsis. The tribe of Judah was being attacked by the Moabites and Ammonites.  King Jehoshaphat knew they were up against a large army and he didn't know how they were going to overcome these enemies. He chooses to seek the Lord instead of allow his fear to overtake him. The Lord delivered him from the enemies. This is what the prophet told Jehoshaphat:

15b Thus says the Lord to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's.  

¹⁶ Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel.  

¹⁷ You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”

I wish I had time to go into more detail of what the Lord taught me but here is the huge point God was making in my life: this battle was not MINE. This was going to be all the Lord's doings and He would receive praise. I did what He had called me to do by training, but the outcome was the Lord's.

I read the above verses in detail the day before we were to have his "graduation" and test results revealed. It brought tears to my eyes because the Lord told me to not be afraid - the Lord will be with me - and Wes.

After the passage above, King Jehoshaphat fell down and worshiped the Lord. He also called on others to praise the name of the Lord as they were going into battle the next day. Here is what happened:

²¹ And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in holy attire, as they went before the army, and say,

“Give thanks to the Lord,
    for his steadfast love endures forever.”

²² And when they began to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed.  

²³ For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another.

The passage then goes on to say how they went on to gather the spoil:

²⁵ When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them, in great numbers, goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. 

²⁶ On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, for there they blessed the Lord.

The day of Wesley's graduation and test results reveal, I chose to praise the Lord for the improvements we had recorded and seen. I praised Him for His timing. I praised Him for what He has done. I went into the battle with the Lord. Then He showed us the results. There was "spoil" to be gathered.


Why am I telling all of this in such detail? I guess because I just had to share what the Lord has done. I must praise Him. I must give Him glory and what better way than to use His Word in that praising.

• Wesley's "enemies" were not Moab and Ammon. They were his weaknesses in his Mind and Abilities.
• The Lord went before us and began to make a way for Wesley's brain to begin connecting pathways that had not been there before. He had the battle plan all along.
• I chose to praise Him even when I still didn't know the outcome.
• We received "spoil" from the training - growth in so many ways!!!

The Lord has taught ME to trust Him more through this process. The Lord has shown ME many valuable truths from His Word that I would not have had if we had not done this very hard thing.

So, yes, the Lord has done far more abundantly beyond all we asked or thought.

Here are a blurred version of Wesley's test results. He had so many areas that needed strengthening. The green is what he was before. The purple is where he is now.  The one on the far left may not look like much - but that was his long-term memory. It barely registered at a 0.1 when we began. It improved 140%. He has other areas that are so important for the learning process that skyrocketed.

Is everything perfect and not needing any more strengthening?
No.

We know there are still areas of growth. But isn't that for any of us? We all are works in progress.

But now, Wesley has the "spoil" from the battle that he can take with him and continue to improve in so many areas.

In this training process,Wesley has reminded me of a butterfly coming out of its chrysalis when it is becoming an adult. The struggle to get out of the chrysalis is what allows the butterfly's wings to become stronger. If one were to cut the chrysalis to "help" the butterfly, there would not be enough strength to pump the wings. The struggle makes the butterfly stronger. It is something the butterfly must go through in order to unfold its wings and FLY.

Wesley's struggle has now made him stronger. This is just the GLORIOUS UNFOLDING of how Wesley's future will continue to have hope.  

I am looking forward to watching him FLY.

To God be praise!