His Romance

When my oldest son was in the 6th grade, he began his romance with God. It may seem strange to attach romance to his relationship, but he showed all of the symptoms of love. He wanted to talk about God all the time. He wanted to spend all of his free time with God. He even carried his Bible with him everywhere. He took it to school so he could read after he was done with school work and during lunch. He took it to football games so he could read it there too. He was falling head over heels in love with God and His word.

It wasn't just about reading God's word for him though. He began to tell his friends about God. Sharing God's love with the kids who some would say were unloveable. He was given the nickname "Preacher" by the kids at school that year and wore that badge of love proudly.

Then something changed. There was a group of boys that began to bully him. They made fun of him for carrying his Bible everywhere. "Preacher" became a taunt instead of a compliment. The group bullying him about his romance became larger, even including a teacher that threatened him with suspension if he ever read his Bible in her class again.

I witnessed my son's heart break for the first time that year. My words of encouragement fell flat as the voices at school became louder than mine. He stopped bringing his Bible to school. He stopped taking it everywhere. He wasn't talking much about his romance anymore and the signs of love were gone. Instead a broken heart was visible and leaking with pain. And I didn't know how to make it all better. This was bigger than a scraped knee. So I began to pray for his romance.

My AJ will be a Junior in high school this coming year. This past year was a time of growth for him in his faith. Slowly I began to see those signs of love again, but a more seasoned love. A love that comes out of heartache. A love fragile at first but stunningly beautiful all the same.

He began to talk about God and spend more time with Him. He began sharing with friends about his romance and that God loves them too.

Then came the day. The day I knew that God had healed his broken heart and my prayers had been answered.

He brought his Bible to school.