where waves grow sweet

Rebellion is as sinful as witchcraft, and stubbornness as bad as worshiping idols. 1 Samuel 15:23

Do you remember a couple months ago when Cole got a two-hour Saturday detention and $20 fine for tardies? You may recall that I got coiled up, bared by fangs, and started shaking my tail like a maraca. Now that I think of it, I used some sort of horse analogy. Whatever. Picture an angry animal and go with it. Thankfully, the great Snake Charmer (or Horse Whisperer or other appropriate calmer of angry animals) settled my fuming spirit, wiped the spit off my eyes, and helped me to see the great benefit of this discipline. Yes, even to be grateful for it and joyful about it.

Morning is a dark and scary time for us, but we have spent the past two months working very hard to change our routine, using September’s chastening to become people of a more disciplined sort. Apart from two freak mornings when the sky fell in, we have been on time – even early – each day. So when Cole hopped in the little green Camry after school last week and told me he had another detention for tardies, I was confused. Baffled. Perplexed. Mystified. Bewildered. Befuddled.

But when Cole kicked my gut with the details that detention leaped to 4 hours on a Saturday morning and the fine to $40, I got ticked. Angry. Mad. Infuriated. Livid. Irate. Enraged.

I’ve been stewing about this for a few days and decided tonight to voice my frustration to my parents over this cruel and unusual punishment. I mean, is this a school or a group of vindictive people masquerading as teachers and administrators? Do they not know what real life looks like or how damn hard we’ve been trying? When my dad pointed out that punctuality is a good thing to learn and that we should get to bed earlier, I plunged my poisony fangs into his tender flesh and then slithered away in a huff.

I pouted a while, feeling sorry for myself, misunderstood, and justified in my anger. Upon reading the handbook, I learned that after the first infraction, it only takes two more tardies to get the more severe punishment. Guilty. Any tardies that follow the second infraction incur disciplinary action of the school’s choosing. Yikes.

The bottom line is that the school is trying to instill something in students (and parents) and preserve order. We are guilty of breaking the “law” in this context. I, who agreed to doing things the school’s way when I registered Cole, am acting like a rebellious brat who wants things done my way. (Turns out I’m one of the crazy parents I used to gawk at when I worked at a high school.)

I’m still not in complete agreement with the steep incline of punishment for these offenses, but that is completely irrelevant. It doesn’t matter what I think. Cole and I both agreed to the rules (they have it in writing), whether we grasped them or not (it appears we didn’t). I mean, I’m free to settle down and share my perspective with the administration, but God has allowed me this opportunity to lay down my pride and be an example for my son. It is easy for me to tell Cole to submit to authority, but holy wow, it is another thing to show him how to do it. As hard as it may be, this is real deal kingdom life. Following Jesus isn’t easy, but it’s oh so good.