I think of how it must have been for my grandparents. For the centenarians. Those older adults who have seen so much in this world. In the passing of time.
The changes they have witnessed on our revolving, spherical planet.
Electric lamps.
Aeroplanes.
Automobiles.
The telegraph. Telephones.
Motion pictures.
…
Fast-forward to present day.
Humanity now catapulted in to the realm of technology. The digital age.
Spanning hundreds of years, we see the gradual emergence of the generations and their relationship to our world. Constant adaptation to change. Organization of time.
We categorize these groups by labels. Depicting their place in history. A method of identification.
Baby boomers.
Gen-Xers.
Millenials.
…
My Sweet Louise. Well, she is considered one of Generation Z.
Otherwise known as ~ Boomlets.
Cute, huh?!
According to marketing experts, this generation has never known a world without computers and cell phones. That means information is at their fingertips at any given moment.
Gone are long afternoons riding bicycles down the dirt road to meet up with friends. After-school games of Frisbee the field. Getting home at dinnertime when your mom rang the hand-bell that you could hear five blocks away.
And homework time ~ consider the simple luxury of ink swirling smooth and glossy over a blank page.
I remember practicing my penmanship. Loops and swirls so visually pleasing. That repetitive, rhythmic engagement of eye and hand together.
That has been replaced with the erratic and quickened clicking of keys.
QWERTY.
Instead…
Our kids can search Pinterest for images of their favorite celebrity or character. They can visit a myriad of virtual stores online. Explore intellectual property. And land in the world of eBay to find that longed-for autographed poster.
A physical purchase at the local department store is a concept of the past for most. Pulling money from your piggy bank at home has translated to an electronic transfer of funds.
An abstract acquisition.
Bid or ‘buy it now’.
1-click ordering. 2-day shipping. Amazon offers the ability to have that favorite t-shirt delivered to the door in time for the ball game this coming weekend.
…
Everything so easy.
So fast.
Is this generation actually becoming deprived through indulgence?
What happens when the challenges of life aren’t as effortless? When something is not so easily attained. It has to really be worked for. When the gratification comes weeks, months, or even years later?
What does that do to a child’s perception of themselves?
Of their success?
Their measure of worth in this world?
It used to be that if something didn’t go well at school for me as a kid, I had to keep it together until I walked that 1/2 mile home and into the front door to tell mom about it. Or, what was most likely to happen ~ I shoved it down.
Ignoring the pain.
Another failure lay heavy on top of the one from last week. And the one before that.
Disappointment again swallowing me whole.
…
Now, a generation later…
I was at work and checking my inbox between appointments.
A benefit of this highly-connected world of ours, I saw an email from Emma. Stopping in the middle of her day to share her woes from the classroom. Miles away.
Maybe because it’s just been the two of us for so long. Maybe because it just feels good to be understood by someone who loves you. I’m often her go-to person. Her sounding board.
And there it was.
A typewritten synopsis of her most recent lapse in expectation.
She had studied hard. Pouring herself into preparation for this math test, her confidence was high, going in. She was sure of the concepts and had been devotedly diligent to her schoolwork.
Then…the examinations were handed back today.
Scores marked.
And my girl’s hopes were dashed. She received a much lower grade than anticipated. She wrote to tell me about it in that email. I could read the frustration between each line.
I could hear the heave of her sigh. And feel the welling of tears in her eyes as she wrote to me.
On the final entry of her correspondence, she held the CapsLock button down:
I AM A FAILURE.
…
My mind wandered to the beginnings of her time here on this earth.
When she breathed her first breaths.
I contemplated her identity through these fourteen years.
Colossians 2:10
And in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.
The matching pink, plastic bracelets we shared on the day she was born. Stamped with our room number. The one on the second floor of the hospital. A cool and damp May evening all those years ago.
‘Baby girl’ it read.
Long before the world knew her name, I knew the whispers of her soul in my heart.
…
Birth certificates.
A student ID.
Most recently, an official ‘student pilot’s certificate’ that arrived by post. According to the AOPA, Emma has been assigned an arithmetical value that will stay with her all the days of her flying.
Another number.
Another method to categorize our place. Communicating to the world who we are. What we do. Character symbols to exemplify our existence.
Scales and bank accounts.
Do I measure up to the supposition of society?
Calculating success.
Quantifying worth.
Just as the score on that math test, these numerical representations are short-sighted parameters of the measure of our value in this world.
For our God has a much broader and greater vision for our time and purpose here.
Sometimes we contemplate our place in it all.
Then the questions are begged to be asked: Why would our Father God have given up the life of His only Son? Why would He subject Him to the suffering?
Why the Cross?
Because God’s measure of our identity is in a love on such a grand scale that it can never be quantified.
Never be categorized.
Because His grace extends so far and wide beyond our human understanding.
And because He cares for us with a fierce and powerful love. That we might live in eternity with Him.
This is the Promise.
But until our eternity arrives, we will serve Him where we are. Trust Him in His Word.
…
At the office where we interface with others.
Behind the desk in math class, questioning our sense of singular self.
And walking through this physical existence day-in and day-out.
The single-most important decision I have ever made as a parent was to claim my identity in Christ.
To follow Jesus.
To love Him with all my heart.
Because in that moment, it freed me. It freed me to quit trying and to start surrendering.
And with surrender comes the sweet life.
His blanket of grace extends beyond my arms so that I can wrap it lovingly around my daughter. Especially in her time of struggle. In her times of questioning and uncertainty.
So…when the world measures us, we can count our beautiful blessings.
When the world suggests a label, we can know our classification in Christ.
…
Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
So what ever happened with that math test, you ask?
Well…that sense of failure was only fleeting. For my Sweet Louise knows the most important functions and equations that there are. She has learned to calculate the truly important things in this life.
They are not found in logarithms and quadratics.
Nor are they determined by algebraic absolutes.
Rather, her peace lies in God’s mathematics.
God’s formulas for life.
…
You see…
JOY is exponentially more when we trust Him to mold us into His image.
His faithfulness is more constant than Pi (π) and indefinite in computation.
Unlike our restricted human comprehension, God’s Mercy has no finite limits.
And as Fibonacci discovered back in the middle ages…
His Grace ~ like Creation, spirals into infinity.
My Sweet Louise 
Please share your thoughts.