You Will Move Mountains My Son.

Photo Credit: Sam Adkins Photography

As parents, Josh & I, truly feel that we do our best to teach our children to love and respect those around them & to treat others as you would want to be treated.  That being said, we also fear that our kids don’t always take our teachings to heart, because let’s be honest, kids don’t always listen to what their parents say, or at least we think they don’t.

Do you see this handsome boy in the photo?  That’s B, he’s 7 and in first grade. Last week I received a message from his teacher that had me in tears. Happy tears, streaming down my face like rain. But before I tell you why, you need to know that B has a heart of gold, loves learning about culture & is a sensitive kid (even though sometimes his SPD gets in the way). He has a zest for & love of life that I want to bottle up & share with everyone, even when he’s being a little poop head.

Ok, back on topic...  I receive a message from B’s teacher saying that he told her “I want to be a pastor when I grow up like Martin Luther King Jr. so that I can help make a more peaceful community.”

Tears my friends, tears of absolute joy. Not only because it means that he “gets it” or because it means we are rocking this parenting thing (even when we think we are failing). But tears of joy because we are so proud that he not only understands, but he also lives out this crucial life skill. In fact, I would go so far as to say that he has almost mastered it at 7.

Call me crazy, that’s ok, trust me I’ve been called worse. But understand why I say this & hear me out.

I have had the privilege, on several occasions, to visit B at school, eat lunch with him and his friends, go on field trips & be in both his kindergarten & first grade classrooms. During all of these events I was blessed to meet his friends, help them open their milk at lunch, listen to their stories, their banter & truly enjoy our time together.  But what I couldn’t help but notice is how diverse his group of friends are. From boys to girls, different races & religions, he loves all of them like they are family to both him & to us.

Caucasian, Black, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, Multi-Cultural, Asian, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, It doesn’t matter… His circle of friends knows no boundaries & he genuinely wants to learn from every one of them. We have had discussions about Day of the Dead, Hanukah, Kwanza & other celebrations. He has learned Spanish, Arabic & Hebrew languages, because he is genuinely interested in learning more about the culture and holidays his friends celebrate (because let’s be honest, as a kid holidays are the best thing ever!!) so that he can understand & celebrate with them.

It is this curiosity that has also led to a few uncomfortable conversations with parents of his friend & thankfully, they have all been both kind & generous in sharing information and answering all of his questions. I distinctly remember apologizing to a family at our school (in advance) if B ever said or asked anything that upset their student & explained that he was very curious about their culture. Almost immediately after speaking with these parents, B walks into the room & the father says “B if you ever have questions, you can ask, we would be happy to answer them for you.”

You guys, this is a family who has different religious beliefs than we do. And in that moment I teared up. Truthfully, that moment is forever etched in my heart, because in today’s world that doesn’t always happen. I feel that in today’s world it is our ignorance, lack of communication, willingness to understand & lack of respect for each other gets in the way of our joy and our desire to genuinely learn more about each other and our heritage. It gets in the way of experiencing everything life has to offer & makes us pass judgement on someone before we even know their story. In short, it makes a person ignorant and ugly.

 Rachel Hollis sums it up best for how we, personally, approach cultural diversity when she says:

“ I am a Christian, but I fully love and accept you and want to hang out with you and be friends if you’re Christian or Muslim or Jewish or Buddhist or Jedi or love the opposite sex or love the same sex or love Rick Springfield circa 1983. (Sidebar: I was a baby 1983 but I still love me some Rick Springfield & Tom Petty. ;) )  Not only that: I think the ability to seek out community with people who are different from me makes me a stronger, better version of myself. Trying to be in community with people who don’t look or vote or believe like you do, though sometimes uncomfortable, will help you and grow into the best version of yourself.”

This passage has been on my heart since I read it and came full circle  when I read that message from B’s teacher  because Rachel Hollis is SO right (in my opinion). My family has always instilled in me to be the best version of myself and we have friends who are older or younger than us, don’t look like us, vote like us or believe the same things we do, and guess what, we are still friends and respect & love each other like family.

If we could all be like B and approach people at a soul deep level instead of a skin deep level, this world would be a much better place.

Think about it for a minute & while you are thinking I want to thank B, my son, for bringing this full circle for me. I have always seen your great love & compassion for others inside you and I’m so proud that you want to use your talents to make this world a better place. My hope is that you will bring others (in addition to us) along with you on your journey to not only make a more peaceful community but a more peaceful world.

I Love You to infinity & beyond.