Joshua and the Sermon He Didn't Like...

Welllll...we didn't make it too long with Joshua using Facebook unsupervised until little things cropped up that we had to address.

One was a few Sundays ago. His girlfriend, Jenni, posted on Facebook that she had gone to church with her brother and heard a great sermon on forgiveness. Joshua commented, ON FACEBOOK, "you got a better sermon than I did."

Ruh-roh, Raggy.

Now would be a good time to mention that he is Facebook friends with our pastor, the rest of our staff, and many people from our church.

AWKward.

I noticed that no one DARED to comment on what he had written...no ma'am...not touchin' that with a ten-foot pole!

We didn't ask him to remove it. I try to pick my battles with Joshua. If I make a huge issue out of something, then he will, too, and sometimes it turns a mole-hill into a mountain. I did ask him about it, tho. Turns out, he really didn't like the sermon! Go figure! In the past few weeks, our pastor had used some catchy sermon titles like "Can you hear me now?" and "Live like you are dying." Joshua didn't like that last one AT.ALL. It was all about being ready for Jesus' return. He used verses like 'no one knows the hour or the day," (Matthew 24:36) and how "the day of Jesus' return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night." (1 Thess 5:2).

Joshua was NOT happy, and the longer the sermon went on...the more not happy he got. While it was very obvious to us, it would've been very obvious to anyone who knows him well (IF they were watching Joshua and not paying attention to the sermon! hee hee), because Joshua loves church. He loves our pastor. He loves God's Word. But today? He shut his Bible in a huff, and put his pen up. He stuck his lower lip out and made his "stubborn face." (This is a face known 'round the world by parents of a child with Down Syndrome). He folded his arms and quietly muttered under his breath.

What got him so upset?

Well, Joshua's got a lot of plans. He has spent his whole life waiting. Waiting to be old enough, mature enough, prepared enough. He has accomplished a LOT in his life, don't get me wrong...but there are also a lot of things, big things, that he didn't get to do because, well, he just couldn't. School sports, driving, college. And I didn't TELL him he couldn't, it was more like time went on and we tried not to make a big deal out of it. I didn't want to be his dream crusher, and even tho I tried to find creative ways through the years to make it "okay" with him, he's human like the rest of us (I might THINK I made it okay with him...but he has a mind like a steel trap...it was not okay). It has been really hard, as his mom, because I want so much for him. He is mature in many ways. He knows Scripture and "gets" many Spiritual concepts like none other. He definitely has child-like faith...and He has a prayer life that would put most people to shame.

On the other hand, while he is very "high-functioning" and "low maintenance" when it comes to personal hygiene and eating and things like that, he is pretty much dependent on others for much of his care. He can't drive, so someone has to take him everywhere...to church, to meet his group, on dates. He can do his own laundry, although I usually do it. He uses the toaster each morning, and warms up stuff in the microwave. He can't cook in a hot stove. Even tho he is mature in many areas, he is also very unpredictable.

(I would like to enter the time he shaved off his sideburns on purpose, and the other time he drank out of a bottle of hot sauce at a restaurant because he saw it in a movie (Fireproof) as examples A and B!!)

I'm concerned about him taking medicine, or any number of other things...because he's seen us do it. Not prescription drugs...if we have those, we keep them out-of-sight. I'm talking Motrin, Benadryl, Mucinex...things like that. He wouldn't intentionally do the wrong thing or be unsafe...he would just think he is man enough to do it. He usually comes with me on my errands, but if it's going to be real quick, or if the weather is particularly yucky, I will let him stay at home...and more times than I can count, he has COMPLETELY REARRANGED items in my kitchen cabinets in a very short time! He works FAST! Despite everything, he has plans that he is determined will come to pass. He will WAIT. NO. MORE. He wants to get engaged. He wants to get married. He wants a job and a house and a family.

(sigh)

In other words, he's no different than most of us.

It's hard for us to imagine just how wonderful Heaven will be when we have so many good things in our lives here on Earth. I think when you live simply and are content, maybe you enjoy the here and now a lot. Maybe too much. The Bible says that Heaven is our eternal home, if we are in Christ. Many of It's writers longed for HOME with every fiber of their being.

Do I?

Being a wife and mother have been the most wonderful...and most challenging...experiences of my life. I love it. I spend a lot of time making my home feel "homey." I want it to be welcoming and peaceful. A place of rest. A place where we can all come in, shut the door, and know we are safe and loved and accepted. While there's nothing wrong with that, I wonder if I'm putting more emphasis on making my earthly home more comfortable...and not enough emphasis on telling others how to get to my Heavenly home.

Joshua didn't like the pastor telling him that he might not get all of his plans accomplished before Jesus returns. Joshua said, "WHY would he SAY something like that," referring to the pastor, "because that would be SO RUDE."

Yep, pretty sure Joshua just called the Second Coming RUDE...for interrupting his life.

"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming. But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into. For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will." Matthew 24:42-44