<\/a>
Over the past few weeks, I\u2019ve guided him step by step through the project, setting up deadlines for this bear of an assignment to make sure he met today\u2019s deadline. And last night, as he was going to put the finishing touches on the project, he discovered he\u2019d lost it.\u00a0I knew, I just knew, there had to be a life lesson in this one. I told him so. But it took me a while to figure out what it was.<\/p>\nAfter our son discovered the project was missing from his school folder, all four of us searched our entire home for it without success. He was apopleptic. He was so upset with himself he could not finish the remaining pieces of the project, including putting a face on his bust of Hank Aaron, and copying over a small thesaurus he had written. He was so angry he could not study for today\u2019s history test. Off to bed he went, in tears and with our prayers following him up the stairs. Before Greg went to bed, he went into our son\u2019s room, gave him a big hug and told him how proud we are he works so hard in school. I prayed myself to sleep.<\/p>\n
When I awoke at 6:30 this morning, our son was already awake and downstairs, putting the face on his Hank Aaron bust.\u00a0(pictured above). He\u00a0called upstairs and asked me to come downstairs as soon as I could to help him redo the thesaurus. When he finished, he asked me to prep him for the history test.<\/p>\n
As I drove our son to school I told him I understood his frustration. I had lost important work myself. I told him \u00a0rewriting the project would be easier than writing it the first \u00a0time. \u201cThere is a life lesson in this,\u201d I told him. \u201cWhat is it?\u2019 he asked. I was going to respond that perhaps next time he would figure out a way to keep track of his work better. But then I thought, making mistakes is an inevitable part of living. Surely that cannot be the life lesson.<\/p>\n
As I pulled up to the school, I realized what I needed to say. \u201cThe life lesson is that God will take care of you, no matter what happens.\u201d \u201cOkay,\u201d he said, nodding.<\/p>\n
I watched our son walking through the school yard, his massive backpack hanging from his small frame. I imagined an angel walking beside him. I remembered how I learned as a child that each of us has a guardian angel.. I used to pray to mine before I went to sleep each night. As our catechism teaches: \u201cFrom infancy to death human life is surrounded by their (the angels) watchful care and intercession. Beside each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life. Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and men united to God.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/4.bp.blogspot.com\/__dQCWErAY9c\/S78vWkpsaZI\/AAAAAAAAAFk\/gqCAVpeJpFA\/s1600\/hankaaron.jpeg\")
<\/a> Over the past day, we\u2019ve had a crisis in our home, a crisis of epic dimensions with which anyone with a school-aged child is familiar: our son lost his homework.<\/p>\n