He Is Learning Us
Teach me your way, LORD, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” Psalm 86:11
In the past few months many parents were thrust into homeschooling without any vote in the decision. Not only were they required to become teachers overnight, but also in the midst of it all they had to learn how to work from home. Dens were transformed into classrooms and offices were erected in bedrooms. This is exactly what happened to my daughter in law, Christy. She is a schoolteacher as well as the mom of three students. I watched the photos sent from Seattle as she transformed their tiny apartment to include workspace and school space. She creatively made little nooks for everyone to do their work as well as find some alone space for all.
One of my favorite photos is the one you see here.
She took all of the recyclable boxes and turned it into a game for 4-year-old River. They stacked them from largest to smallest making a tower. She proceeded to have him count them and discuss the colors of the boxes. He loved this time alone with mom until it dawned on him what was going on. He spun around and asked, “Are you learning me now?”
I love it! I wonder if this will be the moment that River realized learning could be fun and good? It has become a question I ask God and myself. Basically we were all sent into homeschool. It’s as if God said, “Go home and I will teach all of you or in River’s words, I will learn you some valuable lessons.” Of course God’s lessons go far beyond size, numbers and colors. He is teaching us valuable things that we will need in the next classroom of life.
Are you aware of some of the lessons God has taught you during this shelter in place time? There is much transpiring within that we may not be aware of until we graduate to another level.
I remember there were many things that I had to learn in school that seemed ridiculous. I said what many students say, “I will never use this in life.” In some ways, life has proven this to be true, but maturity has taught me that thinking, processing, studying, memorizing and problem solving are all a significant part of learning.
We like the end result but we don’t enjoy the process of learning.
Truth be spoken, we don’t like anything that is hard, difficult or uncomfortable. Yet in all of these He “learns” us so many wonderful things.
And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance [of eternal salvation]. Romans 5:3-4
I see the treasure within these verses stacking up like River’s towering boxes. The promise is that hardship, distress, pressure and trouble are producing something glorious within us. Oh, that we would lean in and welcome His ways.
Hope
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Confident Assurance
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Spiritual Maturity
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Proven Character
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Patient Endurance
“Oh, Lord, thank you for your faithfulness to continue to teach us and to grow us to full spiritual maturity. Give us your grace to lean into the hard times and allow you to teach us your ways. Give us faith to believe You are always working even when we don’t see it or feel it.”