Graduation season is always a bitter sweet time of year. Students are saying goodbye to friends and familiarity to forge new paths and new opportunities. Parents are watching with some anxiety as their sons and daughters grow, mature, and seek to thrive. My son is 6 and just graduated kindergarten. I cried like he was leaving for the university. Somehow I don't think this will get easier as he gets older.
For students and parents alike this season is also a time to remember, to look back at all the good times and all the ways God has provided. For me, reflecting back on my son's first year of school it is amazing how much he has grown in knowledge and maturity. However in making dinner a few nights ago I realized there is one thing that I am exceedingly grateful for right now: fish sticks.
Yes, fish sticks.
A little background. When he was only 14 months old, my son made the resolute and absolute decision that anything more solid than stage 2 baby food was scary and disgusting. Over the next five years Katie and I worked tirelessly to make his food, tried everything we knew to get him to eat, consulted many experts, and prayed continually for wisdom. Nothing worked. He slowly moved from puree to mash, but then he stopped there. He started kindergarten eating nothing but mashed vegetables and fruit. It was exacerbating. It was exhausting.
Which brings me back to fish sticks. We began to see God working in his life around October. It started with cheese sticks, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets. His diet has slowly grown from there. Most of his new foods we have had to work through many meals before he would take a bite. Not so with the sticks of fish. It is the first food that I can remember that he choose to eat. It has been amazing to see his journey.
Sometimes it is hard to see the miracles of God. In my life at least they are rarely instantaneous. Usually they are tucked in the corners of life, waiting for me to notice. This graduation season I am pulling this little jewel out. I am thanking God for fish sticks because they are an Ebeneezer. They declare thus far the Lord has helped us.
