Take it to God

By Aimee McNally

When my son comes home from his Thursday school (a one-day/week alternative academic class) he frequently complains about all of the kids in his class.  The kids range from ages 6 to 11.  Naturally, the six-year-old acts more immature than the eleven-year-old, so I often hear about how annoying the six-year-old is.  

Last week, the complaints were about the six-year-old coughs and runny nose.  Clearly, he was sick and should not have been in class, considering the recent coronavirus pandemic.  The previous week’s complaints were about the social interactions between Rickey and Sam.  They tend to bicker, argue, and blame each other, which creates a negative vibe in the class.  

The complaints were becoming so frequent that I was beginning to wonder if I should pull him out of Thursday school.  However, that idea would further isolate him and does not teach him how to get along with others, so I decided to take it to God.

I decided that my son and I would pray for these kids.  Our prayers simply sounded like this, “Father, please heal Timmy’s cold so that he feels better” and “Please help Rickey and Sam to get along.”  

Much to our surprise, my son reported that Timmy was feeling great and without any cold symptoms.  Also, he reported that Rickey was more tolerant of Sam.  I was so thrilled to receive these positive reports!  

Disagreements and annoyances have a way of eating away tolerance and love for others.  Instead of gossiping about the other kids, which would have been so easy to do, we turned the situation over to God.  This had a profound impact on my son because we were able to view the situation from a different perspective.  

Praying for the other kids put hope into my son’s heart.  Praying also changed our perspective and strengthened our trust in God.  He truly can turn negative situations around, if we will only ask.  

As David expressed in Psalm 71:14, we “will hope continually and praise him more and more” for his wonderful works!  When we pray to Him with the right motives, God desires to answer our prayers.  Taking my son’s concerns to God provided an alternative solution.  

“The Lord is good to those that depend in Him, to the soul that seeks Him” Lamentations 3:25 (NLT).  Rather than walking away or taking matters into our own hands, we took it to God.