Good morning…

I could wake up my 14 year old son 15 minutes earlier so that he could ride to school with his 16 year old sister. It took some angry clashing to realize that she wants to arrive early and he wants to take his good ole morning time. So, instead of finding a happy middle ground, her waiting a little for him, him waking a few minutes early for her, I volunteered to be my 8th grader’s daily chauffeur for the five minute ride to school.

Now, I actually cherish that morsel of my morning as we ride side by side, singing aloud together to classic rock songs, exchanging “I love you’s” before he closes the car door. He is the first to remind me that he will be driving on a learner’s permit this summer, so I am savoring this final season of him strapped into my passenger’s seat.

On a deeper level, only God knew how healing this experience would been for me. Growing up as a kid, we only had one car, so we did not have the luxury of driving separately. My dad worked at our high school, so we had to travel together the ten minute ride to school. He wanted to arrive early and I wanted to take my good ole morning time. We tried to find a happy middle ground, but happy was not always the way either of us felt as we closed the car door. I made him later than he would have liked. He made me rush more than I would have liked. Without a second car, compromise drove us to school each morning.

In all relationships, compromising into a middle ground is often a necessity. At the same time, allowing space for individual wiring is also important . Moment-to-moment prayers allow us to live authentically in the grey areas of life. When to compromise? When to give space? On our deepest level, only God knows the healing experiences needed to grow us each whole.

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night,
Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (MSG),

Sue