(HC from Yokohama City/ Female/ 50’s/ Part-time Worker)
This spring, our third son graduated from an evening high school, and has become a working adult.
We could not accept the reality when he, as a seventh grader, had troubles with human relations and became truant. Each and every morning we would wake him up, trying to persuade him with endurance but in vain. And eventually we would contact the school to let them know about his absence, and weep. Every day was the repetition of this.
Learned to Accept the Reality of Our Family
My kokoro was filled with anxieties, impatience, and a kokoro to blame him. However, as I kept on speaking my agony to Kami and learning the teachings, the pain in my kokoro gradually faded away. Before I knew it, I learned to take him in for just the way he was, with an unwavering kokoro. Even when I saw him socially withdrawn, never coming out of bed, my kokoro has come to terms with it, without ever wavering. This was the moment that I found my kokoro saved as shown in the teachings; the salvation of the kokoro not only in words but as a real experience.
All he did was to play games with his smartphone all day long in his bed. This was his every day. However, kind aspects of his character came to be seen more, maybe because my kokoro became calm. Whenever I brought home some cake, before he ate, he would always ask me,” Did you eat one, Mom?” Sometimes he would cut and divide one piece of cake for each of the family. I realized I was excruciating myself because I was blaming him for not going to school.
My Positive Kokoro Came to Be Shared with My Son
By the time he graduated from junior high school, there were some changes in his kokoro. He started to tell us that he was hoping to go up to an evening high school from his own accord. “Can he really go to school with his fallen physical strength?” “Will he be able to get along well with others?” These worries I had turned out to be needless. He was blessed with a lot of friends and belonged to two clubs, and enjoyed his high school life to the end. Before graduation, he was put in the spotlight, chosen as the student to present the results of his research in front of all the students, which gave us a great joy.
Now, every morning, he gets up early and goes to work vividly. He is loved and supported by his superiors in his workplace. And at home, he always talks with his father happily. The other day, he bought me a vacuum cleaner which I had wanted, for my birthday present with his salary. Never did I imagine that days like this would come my way.
Even if unacceptable hardships occur, we are able to enjoy happiness that is beyond our true parameters when we learn the teachings and change ourselves. Now I am really thankful for this.