Jump ahead nine years later and her story has a new chapter. KB has grown up in church... it really wasn't her choice... we just chose church over lots of other things... we aren't perfect parents, but we felt if we could give Jesus just a little bit of our time on Sunday he would bless us during the week.... not exactly the right way of thinking all those years ago, but I knew a good foundation would lead to great things... I also knew what the Bible says in Proverbs 22:6... Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.
The only perfect person who walked this earth is Christ... KB was being led by parents who didn't have it all together... who thought she should be perfect all the time... and who probably overwhelmed her in many situations. We seemed to forget that Christ was the only perfect one... I have a friend who describes others as "much"... they are too "much".... I think we fit in that category just fine... a little too "much" for others to understand... and her to understand. We taught KB to love everyone, to trust until your heart is broken, and to stay close to Mama and Daddy and you will be fine. I have gone to bat for her many times... in good times and in bad... let's face it... adults don't like other children telling them they are wrong! But if I didn't go for her... she would have. She has the art of wearing her feelings on her face... just like me! :) We also taught her that many times we just need to sit back and let things happen... don't confront others when they are wrong... just smile and act like it doesn't hurt... be strong... and things will work out for you. We have taught her that when you make a mistake or a bad decision that you learn from it... you decide how you are going to let it shape you. We've taught her that sometimes parents have to do things that don't make you happy... that make you not understand what in the world is going on... that make you wish you had other parents... because frankly, we can be "much". We have taught her that hard work pays off... literally... she is excited that her bill after scholarships is a whole $95 for her first semester of college ~ and she wants to pay it... (and we don't mind at all letting her do that!). We have taught her that family is really the most important thing in life... your family is going to be there when no one else will be. We've taught her to tithe, to read her Bible daily, to pray before she eats, and I could go on and on and on bragging about what "we" have done... because, you know, we are "much". And in one quick moment... we have been broken down to nothing... a lesson learned...
A few weeks ago, after the death of someone who everyone said "He said he knew he was going to Heaven", I received a text from her that changed my perspective of myself as a parent... I knew I wasn't perfect... but I'm not even sure if I deserve the "p" in perfect yet....
Her text read~
You know how people say that they "know that they know that they know" they're going to heaven when they die... I don't feel like I do. Maybe because I got saved when I was young and I don't remember it... but IDK & I don't really know what you do about that"....
I chalked up one in the failure column as a parent... how in the world could I teach her all these things about life and not make sure that she had the comfort of knowing where she would be when she left earth..... I watched her at youth camps, I watched her read her Bible, I heard her pray, I saw her actions.... and to think that she didn't have that reassurance makes me sad. BUT for once... it wasn't my decision... it's her decision... her choice... without my coaxing or bribing! She visited with our preacher the next morning and prayed with him... while some people don't believe in "second times".... I'm so glad she was open enough to tell us this. And what she did makes me understand that we don't really know what is going on inside a person... and that's important.... are there others that don't know where they stand? It makes me sad to think that some people don't really know... I know it's their decision... and it's such a simple decision... but I also know that when their hearts change... they change. I've seen that in her... and I'm so glad!
It's been a special weekend as we start her last week at home before she heads to Clemson Friday morning. This morning in front of her grandmothers, us, and our church, Katie Britt was baptized again... I really can't think of a better stamp of approval from God that she is ready to head to college than this... I'm so proud of her... and to think for once in her life this mother known as "much" didn't have a thing to do with it!
I am learning more and more that true faith in Christ is a relationship with him. I have learned that no matter what I do as a parent... I can only plant the seed that God's gives me... I can't make it grow... He does that! I'm so glad He did right now. As anxious as I am... on the verge of tears every moment... dreading Friday afternoon... dreading the days to follow... I know that she is going to be fine and so am I. I know that she is in His arms and taken care of... and I know that when she makes mistakes... she knows that God forgives... He loves her... and she can learn from those mistakes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVhaZ3tbPx0
Katie Britt's Baptism
She gets her frankness from this one...
and she gets her sassiness from this one...
It's been a great day for the McKinneys... when the grandmothers left, Sis and I went on a walk and as soon as we turned the corner I saw a red bird... I believe in Godwinks and I know exactly who that was too! My heart can't be any more full than it is today... I'm praying for this week to crawl by in many ways, but I am so ready to see what she is going to do! My faith tells me that we are all going to be fine... people have done this for years... but I'm much... so I'm going to write down every moment of it!
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