Today in summer school, Tatum and I studied the story of Joseph.
Joseph was sold into slavery by his own brothers. Betrayed by the people who should have protected him. Taken from everything familiar. Sent into a life he never would have chosen.
And yet, little did his brothers know, Joseph would one day become governor of Egypt.
Little did they know that years later, when famine came, Joseph would be in the very position to save the same family that had hurt him.
Only God knew; only God saw the famine coming.
After we read and talked about Joseph, Tatum and I started talking about our own family.
And honestly, we have been through the fire.
My health has been hard. Really hard. There have been so many days when it has taken everything in me just to get out of bed, to keep going, to parent, to teach, to show up, to believe that there is still purpose in all of this.
Tatum has had her own struggles too. Her ADD. Her health. School challenges. The heartbreak of feeling like things are harder for her than they should be. The discouragement. The fear of starting over. The fear of a new school and wondering if she will be able to focus, keep up, and feel okay.
Our family has struggled. Not in a cute, inspirational, everything-tied-up-with-a-bow kind of way. We have struggled in the exhausting, discouraging, “God, how long?” kind of way.
But today, after studying Joseph, Tatum said, “Mommy this will be used for good.”
She said that if things had not happened the way they did, she would not be going to a new school. She would not be getting ready to make new friends. She would not have discovered the joy she has serving kids with special needs. She said I will have so much compassion and that I will help so many people. WOW.
Because sometimes when you are the mom, you think you are the one teaching the lesson. But then your child opens her mouth and reminds you of everything you are trying so hard to believe.
I saw hope coming out of her. And today was another little piece of hope too.
Tatum had her first appointment for neurofeedback and the metronome exercises. I was nervous. She was nervous. We have tried so many things. But she loved it!
She loved the doctor. She loved the process. Maybe this could give her more confidence. Maybe this could help her focus. Maybe this could make the transition into a new school feel less scary.
God is our Rock.
He has carried us this far, and He is going to get us through.
And maybe one day, like Joseph, we will look back and see that God was working even here.
I will continue to hold onto that. I have to.