FRED

 

 

This is my little friend.

 

His name is FRED.

 

 

 

FRED is very important to me.

 

FRED was drawn by my Blue Elephant when B.E. was four,

 

before we officially began homeschooling.

 

FRED sits framed on my shelf in my classroom, for the third year in a row.

 

Every once in awhile , FRED catches my eye, and I remember why he is so important.

 

I remember the day B.E. presented me with FRED.

 

He was so proud of himself, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed with his attention to detail and talent.

 At the time, he was interested in Monarch butterflies (obviously!)

 and thought the name "Fred" was the best name, ever.

It was that day that I saw clearly how very like FRED my son was...

unique, beautiful, fragile, a work of art....that takes dedication and time to unfurl itself.

 

Just like FRED, the Lord had a design for my B.E. before he was created.

Just like FRED, my B.E. looked a lot different at first...and then grew, and changed and is becoming more amazing every day.

 

I knew I didn't want my son, so fragile and beautiful, to be crushed; to be tossed about by storms; to be left behind, left our, misunderstood, ridiculed, or never given the chance to go as far as he was meant to in his life.

 And I know trials will (continue to!) come into play....

but he is rising to meet them each day, and blossoming into who he is made to be

 before our very eyes.

 

I already felt called to homeschool by the time I met FRED.

 

But holding him that day, I was reminded of how precious,

 how very amazing is my privilege in this life,

 to be with my elephants as they grow and change.

 

FRED means a lot to me.

I just thought you'd like to meet him.