Some days my son leaves me exhausted. I love him, don’t get me wrong- HEAR ME. I love my son, but there are days, a lot of days where he can be a little— or a lot of difficult. His stubbornness is a thorn in my side. He’s always quick to act, and slow to think about the consequences. He pushes me to my limits. There are nights, I feel the tears swell up in my eyes as I wonder, “Am I doing something wrong.” He fights hard, and never backs down— and I worry am I a strong enough wall to take the blows. I worry about the man he will be- I worry and I pray. I pray a lot.

He is a great kid with an incredible heart, but the gray hair on top of my head-- they are all his. He wants to change the world. He loves deep, and feels deeper than most. He has big ideas and bigger dreams. This week I heard God whisper to me while I was reading, “Jenni- you are simply raising a Peter. I don’t need him to be soft- I need him to be solid.”

Peter one of the greatest of all the disciples didn’t exactly get his start doing great things. In the beginning we read that Peter was often seen as brash, maybe even a little implosive. He was the first to speak, the first to act, and the last to think through the implications of his words or his actions. Jesus was always patient and steering- something I am still working on. You see Jesus knew that Peter’s course was set, even if Peter didn’t know it. Jesus knew that someday others would follow him, even though the road would be hard.

Jesus speaks to Peter softer and more often than any other disciple. Sometimes in praise, and sometimes in blame. Jesus spoke words of approval, and praise and he didn’t really speak to others in that way. And at the same time, often in the same breath, He said harder things to Peter than any other of his twelve- with the exception of Judas. Peter eventually got used to the correction and even got used to thinking before he spoke or acted.

Peter had faith like none other. Without a doubt leaping from a boat to run to Jesus— on water!!! He had the ability to step out in great faith, but when the waves and the wind crashed he became scared and began to sink. He needed help learning how to have faith in the midst of the adversity, but the Lord was there to guide him. Impulsive with his words even when he was shouting out “I’ll never betray you” and then 3 times denying Christ. I think though THIS was this moment ini his life, as he heard that rooster crow the man he was— soft, incomplete, unstable was transformed into the solid rock we know today. The rock Jesus referred to in Matthew 16. It just took a little time...

So this what I have to say to us moms out there with difficult boys— Mommas, what if you are raising a Peter? What if the very thing you see as his greatest weakness will some day solidify into a mighty rock? Peter was the rock that was needed to begin the church, to unify and lead. You are raising a rock solid kid, I know that I am. A kids that just like Peter, that someday might build a church, perform miracles, or even change the world. Praise God for the Peters in the world, and the moms who are raising them.

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