praying tiger

We have had some incredibly stupid things happen in our local schools lately. There have been bomb threats, vehicles set on fire, a gun found in the H.S. & "hit lists" found. The Jr high and high school went on lockdown a few times last week.

This is absolutely crazy. I am definitely one of those people who thought "pickerington - really", this stuff doesn't happen around here... but it did.

With incredibly stupid things comes the opportunity for incredibly awesome things. My daughter Shayna is in Jr high. She texted me to pray because the school went on lockdown Friday. Of course I prayed & asked others to do so as well.

Here is the awesome part: Shayna didn't just ask others to pray, she prayed too. I was so proud of her when she said other people were freaking out but she remained calm. At least outwardly she was. She said she was nervous on the inside but what good would it do to show it. It would've just added to the chaos and feelings of fear in others.

Instead of panicking, she chose to be a voice of calm to her friends. During one of her classes, a group was talking about the "what if" scenarios. She stopped them and led them in a prayer. I almost cried when she told me this (I am almost crying now...).

When I was in 7th grade, I would've been one making jokes outwardly and silently praying and freaking out on the inside. I would NEVER be caught praying with my friends. I was too cool (or so I thought).

My little girl is a proud member of the Pickerington Tigers, and that day she became a "praying tiger"...

My point: you find out who you are when things get stressful. What is on the inside comes out. Who you are is made clear under pressure.

I am so proud that Shayna was able to call upon help from the One who has all the answers. I am so excited that she wasn't embarrassed to pray in front of her friends.

I am glad that she didn't get in trouble for praying in school...