Month: October 2020

The Collector – (Another Lesson from the School Grounds)

He was a collector.

He collected kids who were not overly interested in conventional subjects like English, math, and science. He took them into his shop class and taught them to weld, fix engines, and build barbecue grills.

He ran a tight ship. Students were expected to work, not play. He was a stickler for safety rules. No one was getting hurt on his watch.

He took kids no one else could handle and gave them skills to serve them well in life. He passed on his strict German work ethic to those he taught. Was he perfect? Did he make mistakes? None of us can lay claim to perfection, but he made a difference to so many.

In his fifties, he developed pancreatic cancer and passed away. At the vigil and the following day at the funeral service, present and former students filled the pews, along with many of his peers who loved and respected him.

The most touching moment at the funeral service was when several young men stopped and placed soapstones in his casket so even in death he could mark his way.

We never know what influences we have or how far they will reach. If we are lucky, the lessons we teach will long outlive us.

He was indeed a collector. He was also my friend.

Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity…

Titus 2:7 ESV

The Power of Your Words -Another Lesson from the Schoolhouse

 

As a teacher, I have made my share of mistakes. One that stands out is when one of my juniors turned in a paper saying he was going to play pro basketball when he graduated. I should have left it alone. 

Instead I took it on myself to share that in twenty years of teaching, I never saw someone from a small school play on a pro team, and very few on a college team. That was true then and true twenty years later. The problem was that my words crushed his dream and did nothing to make either of us better people. 

Teachers, parents, and friends should be dream builders, not dream shakers. There is a fine line between the two. Who knows when the right word will be the difference between success and failure? I have learned that life will supply its own disappointments without help from me. 

The young man did not play ball in college or the Pros. Talent in a school of two hundred is different in a larger environment. While I do not think my words affected the outcome, they affected our relationship. I have carried that guilt of discouraging him for a long time. How easy would it have been to be an encourager instead of a naysayer! 

A few years later, I read a book by Frances Littauer where she expressed that our words should be like silver boxes that hold a gift. Those words left their mark on me, for I long to be an encourager rather than a dream-stealer. My challenge for each of us is to make a positive impact on all those with whom we come into contact. 

 A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.  

 Proverbs 9:11 KVJ 

In 2020, Can You Finish Strong?

When my oldest son was an eighth grader, his football team had a very successful season. However, one evening, he came home in a blue funk. Typical mom, I asked him, “What’s the matter? You won the game!”

“Yeah, we won, but Coach yelled at us. He said that we should always run to the line of scrimmage, whether we were winning or losing. He said the game is never over until the last whistle blows, and we need to finish strong.”

That conversation took place a long time ago, and unfortunately, his high school seasons were not nearly as successful. However, the lesson is as true today as it was that fall evening. Like football, life isn’t easy. We determine whether we finish strong or trudge on, just hoping to finish.

As a young person or young adult, you may have your first encounter with harsh reality. As a middle-aged -adult, you may wonder if you have taken the right path. As a senior adult, like myself, you may wonder what new struggle awaits. Sometimes both the starting line and the finish line appear to be a long way off.

We would all agree that the last several months of 2020 have been difficult, and I doubt if any of us would want to replay the life game of the last few months. We are ready to establish a new normal and do it now! However, God commissioned us to run the race until we reach the finish line.

The writer of Hebrews tells us, “Let us run the race with endurance that God has set before us.” We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, even when the world seems to turn upside down.

Wherever you are in life today – struggling with a school year, facing challenges at home, in health, or in finances, or just needing to get to the line of scrimmage one more time, let me challenge you to depend on God to call the plays. You can’t ask for a better Coach.

I have fought the good fight, I have finished
the race, I have kept the faith.
2 Timothy 4:7 NIV