The Bee

It's not a coincidence that a kid who LOVES Geography ends up at a school that participates in the National Geographic Geography Bee.  We didn't know this at the time we picked the school.

That's purely a God thing.

As we headed down to D.C. the excitement in the car was palpable.  Plenty of chatter, much quizzing, and of course, a few prayers thrown in too.  It didn't hurt, that en route, we stopped to pick out the puppy that's soon to join our brood.  If nothing else, this face distracted us from any stress we might have had:

And no, she's not named yet.  A point of contention around here.

Our experience over the week was certainly unique.  Charlie roomed with two other contestants, giving us a short glimpse of life in the future, when he's off to college.  Audrey soaked up the extra attention from us both.  He learned that being away from your parents might be kind of cool, but roommates present a different set of challenges all together.  I'm sure you can relate.

As for the competition itself, he disappointed himself in that he made an error on one of the questions.  In giving the country, not the name of the island, he missed the point.  He composed himself well throughout, and it was obvious to me as his mother, that prayers were being answered for humility and good recall.  Out of the eleven contestants in our room (there were 5 rooms in total), three scored perfectly and moved on to the finals.  With ten spots available for the finals, nine of those spots were filled with kids who scored perfectly in the preliminaries.  The competition was stiff.

Given the circumstances, I do think he did his best.  There was no sense of what to expect, other than one would be competing against the best in each state.  The types of questions were unlike any he'd had previously, adding an element of difficulty.  

I'm so proud of him for his effort, but even more so for his character.  Not once did I ever hear him say anything negative or condescending.  It would be easy to get lost in the sorrow of losing, but he didn't. He was excited to see the others compete, and see if he knew the answers.

When all is said and done, Charlie walked away learning more about himself and how God answers prayers.  He heard the winner talk about how much time he spends studying for this, and Charlie was frank in his response of "I'd have no life if I did that".  I'm so thankful he has a sense of balance and priority at this age. 

All in all, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us all, and we are grateful to have been there.

Team Charlie

We're on our way down to Washington D.C. today.

My pom-poms and cheerleading voice are ready.
My prayers have been prayed.
My excitement, building.

It's time to fly, dear son.

Six weeks have flown by, and Charlie has impressed me, once again.  Forget for a minute all the knowledge he's had to retain.  The kid took 6 different sources and compiled information from each, into a notebook arranged alphabetically by nation.  In total, he put 150 nations in his notebook.  Can you name 150 of ANYTHING?  Day by day he's poured over the book, studying everything he's written down.  Combined with a nightly watching of "Jeopardy", he now believes he's sufficiently prepared.

It could be so easy to get wrapped up in the worldly trappings that accompany an event like this; success, pride, entitlement and money.  From these eyes, thankfully, there is an entirely different perspective.  This bee isn't really about the Bee.  It rarely is.

 You wonder, what is it about then?

Growing spiritually.  We have not because we ask not.  I'm not going to lie, I'd love to see my son win. It'd be a delightful moment for me as a mom.  But that's not at all what I've prayed for him the last six weeks.  God hasn't called me to pray for that.  He HAS called me to pray for his humility, ease in recall of all the facts he's learned, and that He would be glorified throughout.  Even better, is asking Charlie  what he wants prayed.  His answer?  That the other contestants wouldn't be proud.  He saw some aspects of character in the state competition that disgusted him, and it made an impression.  We've had some tough conversations about what to expect from this event.  Not all of it is pretty.  Charlie knows he's called to act and speak differently as a representative of his Creator, and this family.  Certainly it won't be easy for him, given that the level of competition will be high.  His ability to pray won't be hindered at any moment; he knows from experience that our God is present and able to help in times of need.

Charlie himself has been praying that he does his best.  I think that's all we can ask.  No goals are set this time.  Just the plan of going in and enjoying oneself.  I'd liken it to running a marathon.  Weeks of time and effort spent preparing, and you eventually make it to the starting line.  The race is the easy part; the training is all behind you.  Enjoy the scenery, soak up the crowds, and finish strong knowing you've put in the effort it takes to complete such a race.  Charlie is about to learn that the outcome is really a small part of what's going to take place this week.  God is going to use him in ways he can't expect.  God is going to grow him in places he needs it.  God is going to answer prayer.

The hardest part will be the waiting.

"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think.."  Eph 3:20


Go Lord!