I...Eye...I...
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you and watch over you. Psalm 32:8
“Repeat after me,” she stated in our weekly, first-grade ritual. “Robert rushed to the red wagon.”
I took in a deep breath. “Wobewt wushed to the wed wagon. How many times do I have to say this?” I accidentally said that last part aloud.
“Try this. Red Rover. Red Rover. Why can’t you come over?”
“Wed Wovew. Wed Wovew. Why can’t you come ovew?”
Those dreaded Rs got me every time. Had it not been for the two of them perched proudly together in my last name, my teacher, Mrs. Jones, might never have noticed. But from the first day of school, I was marked. I dreaded those one-on-one appointments with the specialist.
Second grade brought triumph, at least momentarily. Released from the speech program, I blended in beautifully with my R-pronouncing peers. Until the day of our annual eye test.
I proudly guessed the letters I saw on the eye chart; the oversized E taunting me from the wall across the room. I covered my left eye, then my right, repeating the letters with pride.
“Can you step aside? We will try again in a minute.”
Mrs. Furman wrapped her flappy arm around my shoulder while we waited. Soon we were alone with the school nurse. I stepped up to the line taped across the floor and squinted to guess the letters. With experience, I would have known to listen to what all the other kids said. But this was my first eye test.
Suddenly, I knew what the problem was. It had to be the Rs. I guessed the letters again, throwing in extra Rs whenever I was uncertain.
“Can you see the chalkboard in our room?” she asked, escorting me to the classroom.
“No. I just remember everything you say,” I explained.
“After lunch, we need to call your mother.”
I gulped. I had never failed a test before.
Failure is never fun, but it is not nearly as exhausting as faking it.
One of the best gifts that Jesus offers us is truth. Truth, even when it is painful, is freedom. When truth is on the table, Satan has nothing left to work with. He simply cannot manipulate the truth.
Is there an area of your life where you have faked it? Ask God to reveal His truths to you and thank Him for loving you enough to spend time with you until you get it right.
Janet Morris Grimes is the author of the book, The Parent’s Guide to Uncluttering Your Home, released in May of 2011. She currently writes on such topics as faith, family, writing, teen issues, and of course, the process of uncluttering. Janet launched Abandoned Ministries late in 2010, which leads others through speaking and writing to seek God as Abba during times of abandonment. For additional information, visit her websites at http://www.abbandoned.com or http://janetmorrisgrimes.com.
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