CRUSH!

Today was our son, Jacob's first football game.  He was so excited and played quarterback for his elementary (5th & 6th) team.  I haven't ever really liked football, myself.  I grew up in a smaller town than Tipton  and we didn't have football.  When I  go to the games, I can't ever even find the football!  I did keep up with Jacob because of the number on his jersey....well, most of the time, anyway!

When the football practices first began last week, Jacob was looking forward to getting to "crush" people.  Just that word and the thought of football - with the boys all smashing and hitting each other - isn't something that's appealing to me and I don't get it! But, it is, always has been, and most likely always will be appealing to Jacob.  He's been a rough-and-tumble kind of boy since he was born!  The thought of him "crushing" someone isn't something I like.  But, the idea of him being "crushed" by someone else.....well, I like that even less!

When our first two children (a girl then a boy) were born and in their toddler years, my husband, Joe and I thought we could have written a book on child rearing.  It was that easy.  Really.  No problems.  Not too tough to discipline.  But, then along came number three (this post isn't even going to talk about #4 :)!!!) and we would have had to throw that "book" away!  Everything that had worked with #1 and #2, suddenly didn't work with #3!  It was really strange to me, but my husband understood it more.  He grew up with five brothers and sisters and so there were more differences with them.  I had one sister and we were six years apart, so it was harder for me to understand.  Joe knew Jacob was more like him in many ways, so he understood him.  He gave me some good advice on dealing with Jacob.  He would say, "Don't crush his spirit".  There's that word again - "CRUSH"!

Well, I realized (eventually) what my husband meant.  Jacob wasn't going to be like #1 and #2.  No.  He was different.  But, those differences weren't "bad"....they just made Jacob, "Jacob".  I didn't need to waste time trying to make him something he wasn't going to be, but I could still help to mold him, teach him, and discipline him.  I just had to do it in more creative ways!  Jacob and I worked together on a lot of those things and it made a special bond between us that is still there today.

Jacob decided to become a Christian about a year ago.  He came to the decision by realizing that when he did wrong it was sin.  He realized that not only did his wrong-doing disappoint us or maybe get him in trouble, but that his sin was offending God.  Jacob realized that he needed Jesus in his life to get rid of that sin (see verse below).  My husband baptized Jacob.  I cried!  It was a special moment for all of us.

Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with,that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

Romans 6:3-7

So, through Jacob, I learned to "mother" in a different way.  I learned not to "crush" his spirit, but discipline and nurture him in different ways that I had with the others.  I actually became more protective of him because of that spirit and also because he's always been smaller than friends his age (something he thinks is neat!).  And now, Jacob is on the elementary football team and HE'S CRUSHING PEOPLE AND THEY'RE CRUSHING HIM AND HE THINKS IT'S FUN!!!!  I worked all those years so as not to "crush" him and that's what football is all about! 

I still don't get football!