Tough Love

Tough Love

By Cole LaFave, Class of 2014

Raleigh, North Carolina

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your

own understanding. Seek His will in all you do,

and He will show you which path to take. Proverbs 3:5-6

            The first time I went snowboarding I wanted speed. I wanted to get to the bottom as fast as possible. With this attitude came very little caution or control. I didn’t care to learn how to “carve.” In other words, I wasn't very good at controlling my speed.

            Last year I went for a second time. You guessed it -- same attitude. I just pointed my board down the mountain and went full speed ahead. It turns out that this isn't the way things should be done. I certainly learned that the hard way (the really hard way). In the middle of flying down the slope, I happened to fall. That wasn’t unusual, but this time I face-planted, tumbled over myself a few times, crawled my way to the side of the slope, and lay there. My brain was rattled and everything hurt, especially my knee.

            Sometimes when we are flying down the wrong path, God allows some bad things to happen. He sends us warning after warning, and eventually our decisions smack us in the face. He loves us more than we can imagine, so sometimes he uses a little "tough love" to help us see our mistakes.

            After the tumble, I painfully made my way to the ski lodge. I had my knee checked out, and everything was intact. It still hurt to fully extend my leg, but my leg was comfortable in the boot. I rested for a while, then stubbornly went back out to the slopes. At first my pain seemed like a hindrance, but eventually it forced me to use more control. I leaned how to carve properly. It turned out that I had partially torn my ACL! I'm sure my stubbornness didn't help, but in the end I learned how to do things the right way.

            It is much easier to follow God’s Word from the beginning, But often our sin problem prevents us from seeing how wise it is to trust in God’s Word. Doing things our way usually brings  more pain and baggage. God institutes His "tough love" to make us realize how difficult our way is. He shows us how much better and less painful His way is.