Joy in Delayed Blessings

Last year, LJ received a Minecraft Mod online class for his birthday. I don't really understand it all, but he can create mods to use in Minecraft, his favorite game. We actually gave it to him to encourage learning online and develop a life skill (learning Java) that he could later use in a career. Life skills are big in our family, especially since he struggles with executive functioning on an almost daily basis.

However, last year, Lucas really struggled getting through the intro part, where you learn how to copy and paste code, etc, etc. At the time (and I still am, albeit moderately better), I was busy chasing down a 2 yr old who had just stopped napping AT ALL and becoming pretty much a crazy mom. Did I mention we were also waiting on our house to finish getting built and all 6 of us were squeezed in my parents' house?  And LJ was also getting multiple medical procedures as we tried to help him?  Yeah, last fall was crazy. I was crazy.  So we stopped trying to get through the class because I had nothing left. I could not sit there and watch him cry and get frustrated. This was 2 months before we discovered he had epilepsy.  And then we moved and I forgot about the program for 6 months. Because that is what moms do.

Last week, nothing made LJ happy. He was bored. The chores were done, and it has been crazy hot here. And AHA!  I remembered! We have the Minecraft mods!  And it is school...on the computer! #momwin  So we started watching the intro...again. Today, we got through the intro, and LJ was so excited to get through it, he wanted to create a mod RIGHT AWAY.  (Keep in mind, I use this term without really knowing what it means!)  The look on his face tonight after creating a diamond sword that has blood (shudder! What did PBS teach him?? Seriously, we can barely watch non-cartoons!) was priceless. He was proud and happy and excited!  It was such a joy to see how the epilepsy meds have helped, and how the diagnosis has helped him get to where he is.

Sometimes, we have to go through the suffering to really see the joy in life. It is these moments I live for, because they are rare.  Delayed blessings are a gift because you receive a greater depth of understanding of what the blessing is. You know what it is like to be without the blessing. You know what the suffering looks like. And you soak up the joy when it comes. God is good.