Is It Enough?

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Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2

Now that we’re all staying home, I find myself at a bit of a loss. I am worried about all of my students who are not getting the reading lessons that I feel like they need. There really isn’t much I can do about the schools being closed, but am I doing enough to help my students?

I spent the first week and a half at home wondering what to do for my students. Should I try to contact families and see if any of them want to try to do remote learning lessons? I know that many of the families in our district do not have reliable high-speed internet that makes this kind of lesson possible. Should I offer it anyway? Will any of the parents be interested, or are they already overwhelmed with the school work they are trying to do each day? Is it fair to those who can’t do it to offer it to those who can?

I was talking to my parents about this dilemma. My dad basically said, “Seems like you should look at it like you are helping those that you can help.”

I know there are many teachers out there right now feeling down and discouraged because they can’t help every student in their class right now like they normally would. There are also parents out there who feel like they are not helping their own children enough with all the school work. There are probably many healthcare professionals with limited supplies who are feeling like they are not doing enough.

I feel like this verse from 1 Corinthians chapter 4 is a good reminder for me. It says that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. But it does not say that those who have been given a trust must produce results on their own!

I can contact my students’ parents. I can offer to help. I can share information about resources available to them right now. But I cannot force them to respond. I cannot make them take advantage of my offers of help. And no one else expects me to do more than offer what I can.

In our spiritual walk, it is the same. God calls us to be obedient to Him. He is very clear in the Bible about how we should treat others with love and compassion, how we should humbly serve and pray for others, how we should share truths from His word, how we should seek Him above all else, and more. We are expected to be obedient in all the things He has taught us through His word. But we are not responsible for any specific outcome of that obedience.

We can share the truth, but if people reject the truth, we have still been faithful. We are to be faithful with what we have been given, faithful to do what we can do. We do not have to conjure up gifts we have not been given. We do not have to create any effect by our own efforts. We are expected to obediently do what we can and to trust God to create the results in His perfect ways and His perfect timing.

Let me encourage you tonight, friends. Be faithful with what you’ve been given, do what you can do, and trust God to take care of the rest.

Father God, we are discouraged because of our current situation. We feel unable to do the things we would normally do to help others around us. Help us to be creative in finding new ways to serve others, but help us to trust You more to take care of the results. Help us to be faithful. Lead and guide us so that we clearly understand what we can and should do to be obedient to You. Thank You for the opportunities You give us to be faithful and to see You work in ways we never dreamed possible. Give us a glimpse of that this week, Lord. Help us to see You at work all around us. May You receive glory and honor and praise for all You do!

Peace in Uncharted Waters

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7

I didn’t write anything last week to post here. There has been so much going on in our world due to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and it has thrown me, honestly. There are more questions than answers. Suddenly, we are all staying home in an effort to contain this virus. Although I do love to be at home, it is not our normal routine. It has been shocking and completely unexpected.

And it is quiet here at home. Right now my kids are still in bed, so I am the only one up. I hear my clock ticking. I hear the birds chirping outside. The clicking keys of my keyboard seem very loud!

But in my mind, it is not quiet. My mind is a raucous cacophony of questions and worries and whiny complaints, of unsettled fears and even anger. Although there is definitely concern about the illness and whom it might affect in my life, I am not as worried about getting ill as I am about the effects of this period of social distancing. I worry about our finances; I worry about my kids missing school for an extended time; I worry about my students not getting the instruction I want to be giving them. I am saddened and even angry, at times, by the thoughts of all the canceled activities and events that my kids can’t participate in. As a mom of a senior in high school, those thoughts hit me really hard sometimes. This is not how his senior year was supposed to go.

My school administrators keep saying that we are in "uncharted waters."  And I think we all feel like that. There are so many unknowns that it overwhelms me. How long will this last? How will I teach my students from home if this continues? Will there be enough groceries when I next go to the store? Will someone I love become seriously ill?

I’ve been trying to get out and walk every day, which is difficult with all the rain this week. But due to all that rain, the ditches and little brooks along my walk are full of running water. And in the quiet of my solitary walks, I listen to its bubbling and rushing. I watch it as it flows along. It’s a peaceful sound to me, a calming sight. It’s a reminder that there are seasons when the water rushes, but other seasons where the water slows. It makes me think of the shushing sounds I have always made to calm my crying children. “Shhh. It’s ok. You’re alright. I’m here. I’ve got you. Shhh.”

And I need the reminder that God is still here. The Lord is near. And He is still in control. He is bigger than all of this. He is the unmoveable rock in the middle of the rushing water. He is not shaken or surprised by anything. He is at work even when I can’t see what He is doing. He has a plan, and His good and perfect will always prevails.

And because I know these things with certainty, I have His peace. Yes, I may experience difficulties. Struggles and challenges will come along in this life -- maybe even in this season right now. But He is with me always, and I don’t need to be anxious. I don’t need to be afraid. And when those feelings rise up and swamp my mind, I can go to Him. I can fill my mind with thoughts of His love and His power instead of my fears, and He will give me peace.

I pray that you know Him like this, that you, too, can turn to the Lord and find His peace. If you read the next few verses in Philippians 4, Paul tells us to fill our minds with truth, with thoughts that are pure and good. That’s how I battle against the fear that the enemy tries to plant in my mind -- a mind filled with God’s truth and goodness leaves no room for fear. But I have to intentionally fill my mind with pure and noble and praiseworthy thoughts. These are the truths that bring me peace. I pray that you know that peace today, too.

Father God, we need You. We need Your presence and Your stability. We have peace because of Your faithfulness. We know that You are in control even in the midst of so many uncertainties. Help us to fill our minds with Your truth and turn over all our anxieties to You. Thank you for giving us Your peace. We pray that You will be merciful and heal and sustain our nation and our communities and that You will bring solutions quickly to end the spread of this virus. And in the meantime, help us to trust You and to be faithful to the work You have called us to do -- that we would be a light in the darkness and use each opportunity to fill the world with Your love.

Pressing On!

12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

We have made it to the end of third quarter in my school building. That means that we are definitely on the downhill slide to the end of the school year, but it also means that many of us are feeling tired. Tired of fighting the same battles with our students day after day. Tired of the same behaviors from our students. Tired of the same attitudes, the same arguments, the same exhausting cycles, the same difficulties and learning challenges.

How many times can I say the exact same thing?! How many days do I have to have the same conversation!? How many ways can I teach this particular skill?

Honest truth here: some days it is so very tempting to just give up--to quit fighting that fight, to stop attempting to create change, to move on to a new skill even though the old one still isn’t mastered.

I have one particular group that has been a bit discouraging to me this year. I am teaching them some very foundational reading skills, and we are at the point where we have finished one step and assessed their learning. And they didn’t meet the minimum requirements necessary to go on to the next step.

It’s discouraging. I want to push on and keep teaching them new things, but they haven’t really mastered the “old” things yet. I know it’s not really best for them to move on, but I would really like to move on.

In my position, I sometimes have the unique opportunity to work with the same students for multiple years. I have a student with whom I have been working for almost four school years now. When we started our work, this student was really struggling to read even the most basic materials. When I started with this student, another school employee asked me if I really thought this student would learn to read. This employee made the comment that this student may be one who just never really learns to read.

But I disagreed. I said, with conviction, that I did not believe that was true. I believed this student could and would learn to read, but I admitted even then that I knew it was not going to be easy, and it was not going to be quick.

And it wasn’t. We have worked really hard for the last three and three-quarters school years and even over the summers. And we are not done even now. But today I saw some test results that showed big gains in this student’s reading level! I was so excited!

And I needed that reminder today. I needed to remember that sometimes the results are long in the making, that some goals take a long time to reach and cannot be rushed, and that you absolutely cannot reach a goal if you give up along the way.

I have no doubt that everyone reading this post has some sort of situation that has us exhausted and discouraged and doubting whether it will ever change. Maybe you are a teacher and you are worn out with a particular student situation. Maybe you are a mom struggling to keep on with a challenge from your own children. Maybe it’s a work situation - something with a boss or a co-worker. Maybe it’s a family situation - a sibling or a parent. Maybe it’s a spouse that has you worn slick. Maybe it’s something else altogether.

Whatever it is, don’t give up! Press on! Keep seeking God’s wisdom to know how to deal with the situation. Keep asking for resolution in prayer. Keep doing your best to do the things you know you need to be doing. Don’t give up. God is still working - in you and through you. Press on towards the goal! God is with you!

Father God, thank You for Your presence in the midst of the challenges of life. Show us more of You this week. Be with each one reading this right now and grant them wisdom in their difficult situations. Give them a glimpse of the impact they are making to encourage them this week. Grant us the strength to persevere when we feel like giving up. Help us, like Paul, to press on to take hold of that for which You took hold of us. Thank You for Your faithfulness and Your never-failing love!

Applying the Lessons

12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. Philippians 2:12-13
In my small group instruction each day, I teach my students some very basic strategies to help them read words accurately. One of the strategies I teach my older students is how to divide a longer, unknown word into syllables. It can be quite a tedious process to teach this breaking of a word into its syllables because there are several steps, and there are some points where they need to learn some knowledge about words and their parts in order to complete the process successfully.

But what I know is that if they take the time to learn this process really well, so that they can do it independently, it will help them so much! So I take the time to teach them, and they participate each day in the process. And when they are in my room and that is what we are focusing on, they have it. They can do it.

But here’s an important part that many of my students seem to miss. In order for this strategy to be helpful to them, they have to use it all the time -- when I’m in the room with them, and when they are reading in their classrooms on their own or at home. Knowing how to do this doesn’t help them one bit if they don’t actually follow through and use it on their own. And it is very frustrating to watch a student struggle to read a word that you know they have the ability to read, if they would just apply what they’ve been taught.

There are a few of these older students that I see at two different times during the school day -- once for grade-level reading instruction and once for specific work in word study/phonics and fluency. And it always amazes me that when they are reading from their grade-level reading textbooks, they rarely apply the things they are learning during our word study/phonics lessons. They will get stuck reading a word, and I will prompt them to use the strategies they’ve learned. That’s when I usually get a big sigh and an eye roll.

So when I read these verses from Paul during a Wednesday night Bible study time at church, I was instantly convicted. Paul was reminding the people of the church at Philippi to continue to obey in the things they had learned when Paul was with them, even though he was no longer there. Just because the man who was teaching them was gone physically from their presence, they had no excuse not to continue to live out what he had taught them.

God’s Holy Spirit is constantly teaching me, too, and I am quite certain there are many times He is frustrated with me for not using what He has been teaching me. When I am sitting at my computer typing a devotion, when I am studying my Bible at home or at church, when I am teaching my Sunday School class and discussing the scriptures with others, the lessons seem so clear! But when I walk into my day, when I leave the church building, when the Bible is left on my bookshelf while I go “do life,” how easy it is to forget to use what I have been taught!

God has a good purpose for us.  He wants us to fulfill that purpose.  He teaches us and speaks to us to help us along the way, but at some point we have to put those lessons into action.  If I'm going to experience life as God intends -- if I want to be a blessing to someone else along the way as God has planned ahead, then I must obey in the things He has taught me.

Lord, forgive me for so often doing just what my students do - so often I fail to apply what You have taught me when I am in the midst of my days. Thank You for Your gentle reminders and constant patience with me!

Trusting His Authority

When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.” 6 So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well. Luke 7:1-10

This week I have been challenged more than once by a particular student who would really like to be in charge. Sometimes it pushes my buttons. I try to always respond calmly, but after the umpteenth time of listening to arguments erupt over whose turn it is to be leader, my patience wears thin. Today, I found myself saying very firmly in a raised voice, “If you don’t stop arguing about this, then no one will get to be the leader.” At that, things got quiet for a minute. Finally, I thought, they are recognizing my authority!

But then, not even 15 minutes later, when I corrected a student and prompted her to do something the correct way, she responded with, “But that’s not the way I do it!” She didn’t really care that she wasn’t doing it the way I was asking her to. She wanted to do it her own way - it was easier for her and more comfortable, and she liked it that way, even though it wasn’t correct.

This week, I studied the story of the centurion and how Jesus responded to him.

This Roman centurion was a man who understood authority. He lived it in his military position every day. He expected those under his authority to obey his commands, just as he obeyed the commands of those in authority over him.

And when he sent these Jewish leaders to Jesus to ask Jesus to heal his sick servant, he understood that Jesus was the ultimate authority. He didn’t need Jesus to physically show up at his house. The centurion knew that all Jesus had to do was give the command, and it would be done.

And did you catch how Jesus felt about that? He was amazed at this man’s faith, and the centurion’s servant was healed. I don’t think very many people did or said things that amazed Jesus, but this centurion’s statement of faith in Jesus’ authority made an impression.

It makes me stop and think about my own faith. Am I more like my students, arguing and attempting to always do things my way? Or am I submitted fully to the Lord’s ultimate authority over my life? Am I willing to let Him be in control and completely confident that my requests in His hands will be handled in the very best way, according to His will?

My students don’t always understand why I ask them to do the things I ask them to do. They don’t always see the plan I have that will ultimately help them be more successful at school. Sometimes, they trust me and do it the way I ask. Sometimes, they do it the way I ask just because I’m the teacher and they know they could get in trouble if they don’t. Sometimes, they stubbornly refuse to do what I ask.

And yes, I am relating to that struggle tonight. Sometimes I don’t want to do things the way God asks, even though I know I should. I know He is trustworthy. I know His ways are always best. I know that He knows and sees things that I can’t even begin to understand, but I still struggle to lay aside my own agenda and let Him be in charge of my life.

Lord, help me to have faith like the centurion. Help me to trust You and submit to Your authority in my life every day.

Asking for Band Aids

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9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11

Last week, I had a group of younger students around my table when suddenly one student held out her hand and exclaimed, “I’m bleeding!” I glanced at her palm, and sure enough, there was a small spot of blood. It looked like just a small scratch, but over the years, I have learned that sometimes it’s easier to offer a quick bandage and roll on. And I knew that this student was not likely to let it go with a quick, “You’ll be fine.”

So I told her to wait just a minute until we had finished an activity, and then I would get a bandage out of my desk for her. She calmed quickly, and we continued our activity. I walked to my desk, got a band aid, and returned to the table.

But when I asked her to show me where she was bleeding again so that I could place the bandage on it, instead of showing me her palm, she tilted her head back and pointed up her nostril!

“Wait a minute,” I said. “I thought your hand was bleeding. Are you telling me that it was from your nose?”

“Uh huh.”

“And you want me to put a band aid on your nose?” I asked.

She nodded in response, eyes wide, and lower lip protruding.

But there was no way I was doing that. I bit back a laugh and told her I could not put a bandage on her nose. Instead, I directed her to get a tissue and use some hand sanitizer!

I knew that a band aid was really just to make her feel better, and I was willing to put one on her hand. But a band aid over a nostril is just not going to help anything. There definitely would have been laughter at her expense, and I really doubt she would have felt better at that point.

She didn’t really need a band aid. She needed to keep her finger out of her nose -- and possibly some relief from the very dry winter air we’ve been experiencing lately.

And right about here is where I start thinking about some of the things I ask God for. How many of those things are really just to make me feel better? How many of those things wouldn’t even be necessary if I had handled the situation better in the first place? How many of those requests would end up being something that would cause me more grief in the long run?

I am so thankful that God, in His infinite wisdom and abundant love for me, answers my prayers with what I need instead of just giving me what I ask for. I am so thankful that I can completely trust Him with my requests, knowing that He will not simply grant me everything I ask for just because I asked for it. Instead, sometimes, He hands me the tissue and the hand sanitizer because that is exactly what I need.

Lord, thank you for answering my prayers the way that only You can -- knowing exactly what I really need even when I don’t. Help me to trust You more each day and to understand that when You don’t answer the way I am asking You to, that it is because You know what is best for me, and You love me too much to give me anything else.

The Greatest Is Love

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If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. 1Corinthians 13:1-8a

One of my students stopped our lesson today to tell me all about how excited she was to go home after school. When I asked why, she said, “Because after school I get to decorate my Valentime's box!” There was going to be tissue paper and special stickers, and she just couldn’t wait!

One of the reasons I think the students get so excited about Valentine's Day is because they really enjoy giving each of their classmates a little treat. They enjoy getting the little cards with their corny jokes and showing each other a little love.

It has me thinking about showing love to others. It’s pretty easy to say the words, but it is not always easy to live it out. And yet, that is what Jesus taught us to do. The greatest commandments, Jesus said, are to love God and love our neighbor (see Matthew 22).

Paul really explains what it looks like to love in 1 Corinthians 13. Love should be patient, kind, protective, trusting, hoping, persevering. Love should not be envious, boastful, proud, dishonoring, self-seeking, easily angered. And Paul says if we do good things, but do them without love, those good things are worthless. Like, really worth nothing. Meaningless. Save your energy because without love it’s just noise.

I have to be honest, I can easily slip into the habit of doing things without love. Sometimes I do things that I know I should do, but in my heart, there is pride and selfishness. There is anger and score-keeping. The “good thing” I do is not an expression of love, but an act done for recognition or to uphold a certain image. Maybe I even do a “good thing” to try to elevate my own status above someone else’s.

I don’t want to be like that. I try really hard not to be like that. But sometimes, I’m like that anyway. And that is not love.

But sometimes I am so overcome by the love Jesus has shown me that I can’t help but show that love to someone else. I want to be the woman patiently waiting in the grocery check-out line with a smile and a bit of conversation. I want to be the one anonymously giving generously to help someone with a need. I want to be the friend that protects others, gives the benefit of the doubt, reacts with grace, and easily lets go if wronged.

I’m definitely not there yet, but God is still working on me. He has shown me so much grace and love -- over and over again! When I remember how God loves me, it makes it much easier to show love to others.

So this “Valentime's” Day, I hope that you receive God’s amazing love! But I also hope that we can all take a minute to show that kind of love to the others around us. What a difference we could make in this world if we could only learn how to be better at loving one another!

Father God, thank You for the gift of Your great love!  Help us to examine our hearts this week and to see our true motives.  Help us to be the kind of people who truly love others as You love.  Make our hearts more like Yours.