Teenage Attitude

My 14 year old son is an awesome kid...I love him to death.  He also has his “teenage attitude” moments when I absolutely want to wring his neck!  One of those times happened this evening…just a few minutes ago, actually….and I’m still fuming just a bit.

Since he only has one more week of school, I decided to go online and check his grades.  He has always been a good student with good grades, so I had no significant worries about what I might find.  What I wasn’t expecting was that he has 8 missing assignments.  Eight.  Not just one “oops I forgot” moment.  Eight missing assignments.  That’s not an accident…that’s pure irresponsibility. 

Of course, this little discovery spawned a “conversation” in our household this evening about responsibility, lying, etc…  And here is what my 14 year old son said to me…”I can handle my school stuff on my own.”

If I hadn’t been so frustrated with him, I would have laughed.  “Umm…really?  Really?  Did you fall on your head today?  You have 8 missing assignments!  That’s not how I define someone who can handle his schoolwork on his own!” 

I sent him off to work on his assignments and thought to myself (and I’ll be honest here), ‘teenagers are just stupid…MY teenager is stupid.  He actually believes that we should just step back and let him do what he wants to do (or not do, as the case may be).   He actually believes that, at the ripe old age of 14, he’s got it all taken care of.  But wait until he needs something…a ride, some money, dinner…will I be so unnecessary then?’

Then suddenly I heard a whisper in my soul.  I sensed Jesus saying, with a bit of a friendly smirk on His face (and, yes, I do believe that Jesus smirks!) “Isn’t this, Kim, the way you so often act toward me?  Don’t you often act like a stupid teenager who thinks that she can handle life on her own?  Don’t you often believe that you’ve got it all taken care of?  Until you need something, that is.”

Ouch…it’s true.  Maybe, like my son who thinks he’s older than he actually is, I think I’m more mature than I actually am.  If I’m honest, I walk my faith more often like a stupid teenager than a mature adult. 

But, as always, there is good news.  I still love my son more than life itself…I would die for that stupid teenager!  And Jesus loves me more than life itself…so much so that he already died.