Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Only In God's Economy... When 66 Equals 68!

Just to let you know...I made sure I had Nick's permission to tell this story...

We’ve known for some time that we needed to make an educational change for Nick, we just didn’t know what we needed to do. There are a lot of factors playing into this decision, but it came to a head a few weeks ago and I knew it was serious when Nick asked to make the change this year, instead of waiting until the new school year…

Scott and I had already been praying about what to do next year when he starts high school, Nick, much like his mother, just does better in a smaller environment. But with the request to change this year, we really needed wisdom… James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him,” so we asked for wisdom to know what was best for Nick.

We had 3 options…leave him in his current school until the end of the year, or starting in January, either home school him or send him to private school. As the weeks went by, it was clear to us that it would not be best to leave him in the public school…but how to decide between home schooling and private school? We trusted that God would lead us step by step to the right decision...

I called the private school and that door was immediately closed…there were no openings, with no guarantees for next year either. So that seemed to leave only home schooling…

But I happened to mention to a friend that the private school was full and it turns out that her family is friends with the principal’s family and they have adopted from China also. She made a phone call and was able to explain our situation and he was willing to at least talk to us, but with no promise that he could help us…they were full afterall!

As we sat and talked with him, he commented that he only allows 66 students…3 sections of 22…but after running some computer models, he discovered that he could take two more students for a total of 68! And sure enough, a few days later, he called to offer Nick one of the spots!

Now I don’t know about you, but every time I multiply 22 x 3, I get 66…I never get 68!

The day he called I was with Nick and just like the day with Zack, when he won his new IPOD, I couldn’t stop the tears… I had prayed so hard for guidance and confirmation…how much clearer could it be because who but God could somehow make 66 really be 68?

I loved Nick’s response though, he said, “Mom…Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish…I think he can handle 66 to 68!”

How right he is… God is in the business of handling impossible situations. I am so thankful for the opportunity that He has given to Nick at this school, but I am even more thankful that Nick was able to so clearly see God at work on His behalf!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

As Mackenzie prayed one morning:

"God is great. Amen"

Noba

trina said...

I love Nick's response about feeding the 5000. :) I can't wait to see what God has in store for him at his new school!
trina
ps: your other option...you would be a great homeschool mom,too..wink.

April Isaacs said...

Yea for God! I am so glad Nick gets to make the switch and he gets to do it this year. Now, instead of being a small fish in a big pond, he's going to be a big fish in a small pond.

I bet this next month is going to be tough for him. I'd be hard for me knowing I was going to switch. I am going to pray he finishes strong instead of shutting down.

Hugs my friend!
April

Wife of the Pres. said...

Great post Sharla and great wisdom from nick! Sometimes they just get it faster than we do!!! Even my 6-year-old!!! When Susannah prays and speaks more sounds than she speaks any other time, I KNOW she gets it. And God hears every sound clearly!!! Love it!! I admire your courage to step out too. Our pastor and his wife did the same thing this year, second month of school. Their oldest just needed a different environment and they too were told "too full" but God worked it all out!

Praying for our sweet friend Naomi today! So sad :(
L

Patientlywaiting said...

Sharla,

I love how Nick referenced the feeding of the 5000. Hope this is a great move for him. Since we are moving this summer; I am considering homeschooling the older 2. I haven't heard very good things about the middle and high schools where we are moving.

Hugs,
Robin