The Applause of God

This post is a part of the Five Minute Friday link up. We write for just 5 minutes on a one-word prompt, without heavy editing, and see what happens. Today’s word is “deserve.”

When I was in junior high school, I really wanted to earn the Service Award at the end of my 9th-grade year. I volunteered in the library, I was an office helper, I worked what they called back then OWE, which stood for Outside Work Experience. That meant that I could have a volunteer job somewhere outside of school. I went next door to the elementary school and helped out in the 1st-grade classroom.

So at the end of the year commencement ceremony, when all the awards were announced, I felt pretty confident that I deserved that award. My heart raced as they started with the announcements. And then, my time came: Winner of this year’s service award: . . . Ann.

My heart sank. It wasn’t me. It was Ann. Ann who always won. Who was popular. Who was cute.

I couldn’t find it in my heart to rejoice for her. I was outraged that I hadn’t gotten the award I was sure I deserved. I never won anything.

It wasn’t fair.

I’d been robbed.

She must have been the administration’s pet.

There didn’t seem to be any reason in my little adolescent mind that I should not have gone home with that award.

You would think that 40+ years later, I wouldn’t remember that day. But I do.

What I don’t remember is if that made me work harder in the future, or made me just want to give up because there was no chance of my ever succeeding.

There have been many other disappointments since June of 1977. And so I have had to set aside my pride, which isn’t easy for one whose personality craves applause, and listen only for the applause of God.

And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
1 Timothy 4:8 New Living Translation

Freshman Lessons

On the brink of his first day of sophomore year, I asked my eldest what he would tell someone just entering college. Here’s what he said: Get a longboard and study harder than you did in high school.

That was it.

I would have wanted something like:

• Always listen to your parents because they know way more than you give them credit for.
• If you don’t know time management yet, learn it quickly because you’re going to need it.
• Get enough sleep!

Th0se are some things that I would have said, anyway. But that’s not what I got. And that’s fine. I’ll give you, then, just a few things I would tell a person just entering college.

• This is your time to do things yourself. You need to make the phone calls or send the emails to professors or financial aid offices or academic advisors. Trust that there are people around you who know a lot more than you do about college and your major, and their job is to help you. Don’t let opportunities to pick their brains pass you by. You have to take the initiative. Mom and Dad aren’t (or shouldn’t) be doing it for you.
• College costs a lot of money, so even if you’re on a full-ride scholarship, you need to make it your priority. Believe it or not, you’re not in college to just make friends and have a good time. You’re actually there to learn things that might help you in a future career. The “study more than you did in high school” advice that my son wanted to give is good. Don’t blow off classes. Get a good assignment reminder app and USE IT. Zeroes will suck the life out of your grade. Don’t miss turning things in.
• Just because you pick a major early on doesn’t mean you have to keep it. If you get into your studies and determine that you actually find the subject boring or just not what you thought it would be, it’s not too late to change. Maybe the last semester of your senior year is too late to change. Or maybe even your junior year is pushing it pretty far, but freshman and sophomore years are good times to really try and determine what you want to do. Don’t live someone else’s expectations for you. Figure out what it is YOU really want to do.

Do I wish my son had done some things differently? Yes. He thought he could breeze through and, as a result, he lost his scholarship. And he can’t get it back. But he’s not out drinking, doing drugs, sleeping with his girlfriend. He has a good job and a vehicle he’s responsible for. He’s respectful and doesn’t get into trouble. He learned his lesson: study harder than you did in high school. I expect that this semester will go a lot better than his previous ones.

As for the longboard: be careful of uneven pavement.

Eeny, Meeny, Miney, Moe

Some people love to make decisions. It comes easily for them. I have one son who, when he had money in his pocket, wanted to go right away to the toy store so he could spend it on whatever he fancied. I have another who would walk the aisles, mulling, thinking, considering, and then walk out without anything because he couldn’t decide which thing he wanted.

That decision-making process only gets more difficult as time goes on, and the biggest is right around the corner: college.

My mind spins when I think about all the decisions coming up quickly for my eldest. And all the tasks: SAT, ACT, Air Force Academy application, senate nominations, college applications, ROTC scholarships, etc., etc., etc. It’s overwhelming. What if he doesn’t have a high enough GPA? How do I motivate him to study? How many times should he take the SAT? What if we do something wrong in the Academy application? Will that ruin his chances? And how in the world are we going to pay for college if he doesn’t get into the Academy or get a major scholarship?

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” (Matt. 6:25-34).

Ahhhh. Isn’t that just like our Heavenly Father to comfort us with the equivalent of “I’ve got this.” The decisions still have to be made, and the tasks still have to be completed, but the weight is not on us. Do your part; trust God with the results. I don’t have to fear that my son won’t get into the Air Force Academy. If that’s the ultimate plan for him, he’ll get there—not by sitting and waiting for God to move, mind you, but by working diligently and trusting God.

It’s such a delicate balance: work and faith. You want to trust God for a job, but you can’t sit in your recliner waiting for bosses to come knocking. You want to know where God wants you to go to college, but an acceptance letter isn’t just going to magically appear in your mailbox.

I think what God wants is for us to walk closely with Him every day, to talk to Him about everything, and trust that He’s got our future under control. Do I know where the finances are going to come from to send my kids to the colleges of their choice? No. Not completely. But we started college funds for them, we encourage them to do their best in school, and we’ll apply for financial aid and every scholarship for which they qualify.

And we’ll leave the results to God.

Caught!

A boy from my kids’ high school was shot dead this past weekend. It didn’t happen at school, nevertheless, officials with metal detectors were on campus bright and early Monday morning.

Now, my boys are knife lovers. They pore over magazines about knives and our computer monitoring software is always warning me about visits to sites showcasing knives, swords and other various sharp objects. But they know better than to bring one to school. But I still frequently worry that they’ll forget they’ve stuck one in their pocket as they get ready for school, simply out of habit. Hasn’t happened yet, but the risk is there.

And unfortunately, for a friend of my son’s, that risk grew bones when he was caught that Monday morning with a pocketknife on campus. For now, he’s serving a 10-day suspension. There’s still a possibility that he could be expelled. What a shame that would be. He’s a good kid. But, as my son put it, he’s an idiot.

A young marine I know could have served as a VIP motorcade driver. His teenage driving record, however, wasn’t up to snuff. Too many moving violations. His love for speed as a teen tripped him up too many times. He wasn’t chosen for that position.

Another friend of mine stumbled just one time and had premarital sex. The result? A beautiful baby, but a changed life as a rushed wedding followed.

Do those who speed always get caught? Obviously not. Does every sexual encounter lead to pregnancy? Again, obviously not. Does every student who knowingly—or forgetfully—brings a knife on campus get busted for it? No. But why run the risk? As the saying goes, If you play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

My 6th grade class takes a field trip every year to a local serpentarium. The owner has been bit 17 times by poisonous snakes. Twice, he’s almost died. His hands are gnarled and bent and stubby because of his encounters with these dangerous serpents. Does he get bit every time he handles one? No. He thinks the job is worth the risks.

Is the risk of expulsion worth bringing a knife on campus?

Is the risk of unplanned teenage pregnancy, even if you’re practicing so called safe sex, worth the momentary thrill?

I’m praying for my son’s friend, that the administration will look at his record and determine that the suspension has been enough of a lesson.  I’m also praying that this has been a sobering experience for my boys. That maybe they’ll make doubly sure they’re not inadvertently carrying a knife on campus.

I trust my boys not to do something stupid, but I also know that they are boys, and they are teenagers, and they don’t always think things through. Better that they are forewarned so that they may be forearmed.

Knives. Cars. Sex. In and of themselves, not so risky. But use them in a way not intended by God and/or law and you chance encountering a life-altering situation.

Is it worth it?

photo from http://www.news.bbc.co.uk

Ride Into The Danger Zone–Or What Teaching Seemed To Me To Be

At the beginning of last year, I set out to list 1,000 things for which I was thankful. I stalled out at 860. As we approach the end of the school year–and my first year of teaching 6th grade–I want to work on completing that list. Today’s are all school related, but the rest won’t necessarily be. Better late than never, so here goes the first of the last:

861. Jenni, my fun and capable co-teacher who has owned the science curriculum
862. Iris, my math teacher, because I would be totally unable to teach that subject, but she loves it
863. An hour at the beginning of each school day to gather my thoughts and consult with the teacher who has taught this curriculum for 16 years
864. 10 bright, happy students who have given their all this year
865. A grace-filled school that understands my limitations but entrusted me with this job anyway
866. That our school is right across the street from my house
867. For relatively little drama in my own house so that I could have the emotional energy to tackle this job
868. The Internet, which allows me to look up information on the fly when I have very little knowledge of the subject I’m teaching
869. My education, which taught me more than I thought about things like ancient civilizations
870. Julie, Michele, Sheryl, Christine, Gigi, Sheri, Cristina, Jo and Jill–my students’ moms who are also my friends
871. Carol, my stupendous teacher’s assistant
873. Mary Alice, the aforementioned previous teacher of this curriculum. Her input saved me many, many times
874. A management team who believed I could do the job
875. My husband, who put up with my hours of lesson planning and paper grading
876. Grace, both to do what I feel incapable of doing and to cover my many mistakes
878. Recess
879. Field trips
880. Latin curriculum so that I have tracks to run on
881. My iPad and Apple TV, which way rock over overhead projectors
882. Shari, our teacher mentor, for her input
883. Flexibility
884. Starting each week with teacher prayer
885. My students, because they’re engaged, fun, good kids with good attitudes and good hearts

That’s all for today. It’s good to look back and remember all the good that has happened. It gives me a renewed breath for looking ahead to next year.