Max earns his Yellow Belt!

Max has been very blessed to have the opportunity to take Tae Kwon Do lessons. It has been very good for him in so many ways. He is learning self-control ( I have done a poor job of exemplifying this virtue for him), discipline, and so many other things. All the kids start out at white belt, which stand for purity ( meaning they know nothing about TKD). After several weeks, maybe 2-3 months total, the child is then ready to "test" for the next belt. This is done in a group setting, and only on occasion is the child singled out. Max was slated to go in the earlier group, but I could tell he was nervous. He is the child, when he doesnt know what to expect, he just shuts down. I mean...HE SHUT DOWN! He wouldnt talk to anyone, including the master, and ended up hovering under a desk, just sobbing b/c "he didnt want his yellow belt". 

Now I admit, this type of behavior DRIVES ME CRAZY! "Someone else is paying good money for this, for you, and you will get up and do whatever you are asked to do, no matter how you feel"..is pretty much my attitude. Shame on me. I have never been very good with helping Max overcome his emotions ( which can be very real and very raw), and I tend to just get fed up myself. I ended up telling his master that he would not be testing and then left. I was so upset for Max. I was so disheartened. I was in that moment when you think your child will never outgrow this! I told Max I was more upset that he wouldnt even go out and try, than if he had tried and failed. (ok, I didnt use the word failed) When he got home, his cousin asked him what happened. Then, the 2 of them preceded to go through all the "forms" Max needed to know, and not 10 minutes later, Max came back and said he was ready to try. I also told him that if he wasnt going to follow through this time, that we would have to be done with TKD! I explained about the money and the time spent to take him there, and that it was ok if he didnt like (but he does), but to throw everyone else off their schedules (which we live on in a house of 13 people) was inconsiderate of everyone. Low and behold, he did it! Not only did he do it, but b/c he missed the earlier group, he was with MUCH older children. The skills they have to perform were far from  Max's level, but he tried all of them. He did his best to watch the others, an follow their lead. He broke his boards, both kicking and using his hand! It was great to watch! I will have to post the video at a later time...its taking forever to upload!

I think the most important and overwhelming moment that took place was during the time when the kids were practicing their HIGH KICKS! Max had not learned this yet, but did his best to follow along. At one point he seemed to really hurt himself, limping all the back to his spot in line. I mean, you could see the tears welling in his eyes. He was hopping on one foot, and was really holding back the crying, and running over to me! But he didnt. For the first time in his LIFE, he didnt give in and let his emotions get the better of him. I WAS MORE THAN PROUD! I am sure there arent words to express this amazing moment as a mother. It still brings me to tears thinking about it in this moment! I feel like 6 years of work (albeit, not very consistent work, and having set a poor example) came to fruition in that moment. Lord, give me the grace and wisdom to raise THIS child to seek your comfort. Amen.

first row, 3rd from the left