Moments of Celebrating

This weekend was the final karate tournament for Christian Soldiers Karate that Reagan, Caleb, and Carson have been active in for several years. It was an awesome day with many highlights for our family.

First, my awesome husband earned a first place in his division for self defense. Wow! He did so well, and it really blesses me to know that my husband can defend us if a need arose. He also received a third place finish in sparring. That is one of the most exciting and brutal aspects of the competition.

Another highlight of the day was watching Carson compete. He had only one event this time, and it was in the largest event and division. This happened at the tournament prior when he had incredibly high scores, but competing against people who are two belts advanced than you is hard. This weekend, he did awesome- better than I have ever witnessed from him. He earned a third place!!! I was so proud of him as won it against more advanced belts and older kids.

Both Reagan and Caleb were in the running for the top karate athletes for 2012-which is huge considering the number of students in Christian Soldiers. As it turned out, they were not in the top three to get an award, but I was still so proud of their efforts.

My proudest moment, however, had nothing to do with trophies or titles. It was the moment when Caleb, our oldest son, realized that he would be leaving without a trophy this time- I don't think that had happened before for him. In that moment, he handled it so well- with such maturity and grace- that my heart almost burst. Was he disappointed? Sure, but his response was more mature than some adults, and that is of more importance and value than the karate skills he displayed. His character earned a trophy if his efforts fell short. Reagan had already planned a special evening with Caleb this week. On that evening, he plans to present Caleb with a trophy- one that Reagan earned at the tournament- because of his championship character.

Parenting is hard. There are moments when all you can do is plead for wisdom and grace from the Father. There are also moments, when you get a glimpse of the character of God. Those are the moments worth celebrating.