Plan A that turns into Plan B which was really just His Plan for our lives. Yeah that about sums it up doesn’t it?
I wrote about our plans for our boys’ schooling almost ten months ago. We are in the final days of school, just three weeks left. Let me just say this; BEST DECISION EVER!!!!!
I am so grateful that God took us down this road. Every day I drop the boys off, I am so thankful they are attending this school. It’s been a great school year! I’ve choked up attending the assemblies because we pray before they begin! There is a sense of peace around the place that transcends all else. It’s a great starting point for two kids who have been jostled around in life, enduring chaos that comes from upheaving them from everything they know. Kids who, like their mom, like routine, security and did I mention, routine?
Was it a struggle to start again at another new school? Sure it was. The boys had to start from scratch again. Most of these kids have been with each other since kindergarten. It took some time to make new friends. Thankfully, in our oldest son’s class there were two other new kids and the three of them became fast friends and have gradually made other friends in the class. The child that was bullied at the other school, now has a whole posse. They like him for who he is and for his cleverness and imagination. His teacher fuels his unquenchable desire to learn. He’s no longer bored at school. I n fact, his mind is tired at night and so he sleeps! (It’s worth the tuition for that alone!)
Our youngest, who even a year ago, was crying about leaving Windsor, has amazed me the most. He’s been mad at us for moving him and mad at God too. Sometimes he doesn’t like all the God-stuff and that’s okay. He’s got to work it out for himself and he’s coming around. He experienced much anxiety in the first couple of months because he was once again the new kid and he didn’t know what he was supposed to do. This stresses him a lot. His teacher and a resource teacher worked with him, teaching him coping methods when things got difficult. We had a meeting with both teachers so we could work together, both at school and home. It’s been great being able to partner like that.
He’s come a long way. I spoke with his teacher last week and she is so pleased with his progress this year! He’s a different boy. He still has his anxious moments but they are improving. He’s made some good friends! It makes a huge difference! He’s gotten involved in activities at school which has given him more confidence in himself. We continue to work on it at home too.
But the icing? He’s gone back to playing like he used to at our old house. He stopped playing certain games when we moved. He was mourning the loss of his old stomping ground. This spring He’s gone back to his old games that he used to play. I see the old B combined with the new!
And then? He said to Mark and I just last week, “I like this house better than our old house. I’m kinda glad we moved because if we hadn’t, we wouldn’t have gone to this school and I wouldn’t have met my friends.” He named off a few chums. I almost fell off my chair!
Is this a perfect school? Not at all. It’s still a school made up of real people and real kids. There is still “stuff” that goes on. Kids are still kids. What I do love is the way the school communicates with both the parents and the students. Parents are welcomed, not told to go away or made to feel they are intruding. We are back to partnering with school, which is what made school so successful in Windsor. And fun.
I realize that some of this change also comes from time. Time to mourn, time to heal. Time to move on. Certainly the new school has helped to do this. I honestly don’t even want to imagine what would have happened had we stayed doing the same thing that just wasn’t working. God’s timing is always perfect.
Finally, that old nagging sense of angst that used to underlay everything while school was on since we moved here, is gone. It never came back this school year. What seemed impossible a year ago when Mark and I toured the school, God made possible. This will be an act of faithfulness that will be told repeatedly in our family history. How God was faithful to us, to our boys, and took what we thought was a Plan B, and made it plain to us that it was His plan all along.
What plan B turned out to be THE PLAN all along for you? Please share in the comment box. I’d love to hear about it.