If you give God a task...

Have you ever read If you give a mouse a cookie...?

Well, if you give the Lord God a task... He's probably going to complete it.

Abby has a September birthday. A lot of states in the US and a lot of private schools in California have a September 1 cut off age date for their school year. I.E. child must be x number of years by September 1.

The school Steve and ALL his siblings went is a private school with that very same cut off date. Which I found out early on last year. So, my feeling of uh-oh started that long ago.

And, most women will get me on this point, it was not "uh-oh my child might have to start late and that's unacceptable", it was "uh-oh that means it's going to be up to ME whether or not to push her for the earlier start date".

There is one sort of pressure when you have to decide for yourself what your next step is. This college or that, this job or that, whatEVER. There is all and all a different sort of pressure when you are trying to make that decision for your child who has no idea what's going on.

SO I prayed that it would be clear what the best thing for Abby would be. The absolute best. Not just okay, but really good for her.

If she were a little less exceptional (well, she is!) it would have been an easier decision as well. But her teacher gave us the thumbs up on ready for kindergarten. The testing people for the Kindergarten we wanted gave Abby exceptional rankings - she tested above her age in 9 out of ten areas - going as far as 5yrs 3months in some. However she tested at her age in one and only three months ahead of her age in two... i.e. below the six months above her age they were looking for for a September child.

So despite a legacy of the family and Abby's obvious brilliance the school suggested a bonus year of pre-school.

That threw me into a tailspin because I hadn't made any plans and hadn't thought what would be the best for her and how important is THIS school to us and all that stuff.

And finally, something my mom-in-law said turned the light on. When talking about a more academic pre-K program she said, "I'm sure it's fine, but you want to make sure its the best thing for Abby."

Yes, of course I had already been trying to think about what was best for Abby - but the way Marysue said it, the emphasis was on just who Abby is rather than what she is capable of. And I wasn't really thinking of Abby's personality as a whole, I was thinking of her being an outstanding girl able to go to school and excel wherever she is. I.E. She should go forward because she can. I wasn't thinking of her extremely tender heart. I know, anyone who has babysat her may not see it as much as I do - but she is so sweet, so tender, so in love with people and fun and play...

And this is my last chance to give her this one gift of one more year of absolute joy and fun and tender care. Her pre-school is so completely about loving and respecting these little people. She will be comfortable, she will be loved, she will be encouraged, she will flourish.

Just... watch out. Because she'll be starting school now with a boost... and Abby with a boost? The world better pay attention.

So... if you give God a task... you'd better be prepared that He's going to complete it... and He's going to complete it with an exclamation point.