I Need a New Pair of Eyes

When Joseph’s teacher, Ms Teoh, informed me that he has volunteered to give a speech on his kindy’s concert day, I was more than eager to offer reasons why he couldn’t make it:-

1. in the last 2 concerts, he was either crying or distracted on stage. Therefore, it would be unlikely that after 1 year, he could “transform” into a mature being;
2. he had a poor memory, as with all men (sorry guys) and would take more than 2 weeks to memorize 5 long statements;
3. he has poor pronunciations skills. Words like “responsibility” and “opinion” are just too difficult for a 4 year old;
4. he may appear mature in school but in “reality” at home and especially in front of his mummy, he is immature and loves to stomp his feet and cry endlessly when upset;
5. I don’t think I could practise with him as so far, after 2 minutes of practice, he would end up stomping his feet;
6. I really don’t think I can “make” him behave on that day and spill the 5 long statements without making mistake.

Guess what Ms Teoh had to do after I had spilled the beans? She called Joseph’s class teacher and together, both of them had to assure me that Joseph could do what he had set out to do! “As his teachers, we have observed that Joseph had a major breakthrough in the past year. Despite how he had behaved in school previously, he is now a big brother in his class, taking care of others and doing his work independently. So, don’t worry Mrs Wong, we believe that your son could do it!” Ms Teoh said confidently.

Such assurances from the teachers took place not just once but twice in the past week! The final straw came when I had to attend my 2^nd VBS training last weekend. This time, I met not one but two of Joseph’s Sunday school teachers. Having seen and experienced how Joseph had behaved in their class, both of them nodded confidently that he would do well in his concert.

I felt ashamed of my lack of confidence in my own son. I might have 4 years of mis-behaviour to back up my theory but unfortunately, this has prevented me from seeing the real characters in Joseph that have developed gradually over time. In this instance, my own eyes have deceived me!

This reminds me of how I was before I became a Christian. I had my own ideals, my own interpretation of God based on what people said and what I read. However, little did I know that what I had believed in could be wrong, until I set out to seek out the truth! In this part of my journey, God chose to use Joseph to show me that my eyes could betray me! Rather, I must see Joseph from God’s perspective and not my own.

That’s why we live by believing and not by seeing.