Teenage wisdom

The running joke around our house is "Gee, I hope I know as much as my teens when I grow up!" While I often tease them for their know-it-all attitude, recently the Lord used my 13 year old to truly teach me about His heart for people.

We were in downtown Dallas and Connor wanted to show us where he'd spent time on his missions trip a few weeks back.  South Dallas is, for lack of a better word in my vocabulary, a bit scary.  For a girl from the suburbs, South Dallas is not a place I have ever spent any time.  As we drove around looking at some of the places he'd been, I commented to him that I was feeling a bit uneasy.  His response struck me to the core and showed me a mirror into my own selfish, fearful heart.

"Mom, I was a little nervous at first too and then I talked to them.  When you talk to them, you realize they're no different than you and me.  They have the same hopes and fears.  They're people just like us."

My eyes see incredible poverty, fear and violence.  His see people dearly loved by the same God who loves me.  I choked back tears as the boy who can't seem to keep his room clean pointed me straight to the heart of the Father.