Missed Opportunities                      (Part 2 “Lord, Help Me!)

Our lives are sometimes like the hustle and bustle of the big city. There is enough movement to cause distractions from the task before us. If we are not careful, we will miss opportunities to avail ourselves to students, family, and colleagues. Since Covid-19, I have spent a great deal of time reflecting on God’s promises, His favor, and the calling that He has on my life. I am seeking to be more purposeful in recognizing opportunities. The challenge for me is remembering what 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”  An encounter with one of my students this year has had a profound effect on me, and it is an opportunity that I will never forget.

I always tell students that they are being watched when they least suspect it. People around them watch their attitude, their language, and their actions. It is no different for the classroom teacher because students watch and listen to our tone, our attitude, and our interactions. This year one of my students asked me if she could come by my desk and talk to me later, and I invited her to come by that afternoon.

The student arrived at my desk that afternoon and said, “I just wanted to get your opinion about something. Now I have watched you and you seem to be a woman of faith. [At that point I was thanking the Lord that she could see that in me.] You are also a person who is logical in the way that you think.” I chuckled because I do try to think and act logically, but I won’t say that it is always successful. The student continued, “I am trying to understand how do you balance logic and faith?”  I smiled. What the student did not realize was in that very moment I was praying. “Lord, please help me! Give me the right words to say. May these words be loving and effective.”  

The student continued, “I am an atheist. I have older parents, and I was not raised in a church. Now I have been picked on through the years by my peers. I have recently been asking some of my friends about this faith thing and why it is so important and strong for them.” So I looked at this young lady and said, “I don’t think you’re an atheist. I think you are a seeker. You see something that your friends possess, and you’re trying to figure out what it is and maybe how to get it. Because there is no logic to what they have, you are struggling with what is faith. Am I in the ballpark?”

My student sat back and thought about it for a moment. She chuckled and said, “Well, yes! I am trying to understand how people can believe in a God who would create good and evil. I am trying to understand how people have so much faith in something or someone that they cannot see. I have not read the bible and I am sure that it would probably explain some things, but it just doesn’t make any sense to me. I have been thinking about this and knew that I could ask you without you thinking ill of me.”

So where do I begin? I start with another quick, silent prayer. “Lord, I have someone who is seeking. I don’t want to bombard her with lessons in theology and doctrine that are overflowing with scripture. I want to tell her enough without overwhelming her and having her shut down completely. Help me, Lord!”  So I recognized this is an opportunity. “Let’s start with the beginning. When the Lord created the world, man, and woman, He created everything that was good. Man[Adam] had everything he needed to survive. He had a place to live [Garden of Eden]. He had a job [to oversee the Garden of Eden]. He had companionship [his wife Eve who was created from Adam’s rib]. Life was good.”

My student responded, “Wasn’t there something about a tree?” I answered, “Yes, man was told not to eat the forbidden fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden. However, his wife was deceived by the serpent and ate from the tree and gave the man fruit from the tree. We call this story the ‘Fall of Man’ and here is where evil enters the picture.” I pause because I see the student processing.

She said, “I don’t get it. Why put the tree in the garden and then tell them not to eat from it. Why give them a choice? It seems to be setting them up for failure.” Now it was my turn to laugh. I reminded the student that young people always like to have a say in things that pertain to them.  Young people don’t like feeling that there is no choice in matters. “You see God wants people to be obedient to Him because they choose to, not because He is forcing them. You see we call that “free will.” You have a choice of the path that you will take. We recognize from this story how sneeky the serpent was in his quest to undo what the Lord had done.”

At this point, I asked the student if this made sense, and she said she was following the story pretty well but having faith in something or someone that you can’t see was still an issue. Throughout this conversation, I referred to one verse: Hebrews 11:1-3. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.” I told my student to look out of the window at the trees as their branches were swaying back and forth. I said, “Do you see the trees moving? What is causing that?” My student responded, “It’s the wind.” I nodded in agreement and then asked, “How do you know it’s the wind? Can you see it?” Another teacher was now listening to this conversation and seemed to be processing this idea. My student said, “Well, no I can’t see the wind, but I know that’s what’s making the trees move! I can feel it!” I smiled and said to her, “Faith is believing in what you can’t see, but you know that it exists because you can feel it!”

After a few moments, my student said that she needed to go think about this conversation. She thanked me for allowing her to come by to talk and ask questions. I left an open invitation for her to come talk anytime. Once the student left, the teacher behind me said, “I am so glad she asked you and not me!” I shook my head and told her that I was doing some heavy praying for the right words. I recognized this as an opportunity that could easily have been missed if I had told the student that I was too busy or that her question would have to wait. I don’t know whether my words will cause her to continue seeking or that I will ever see the outcome. I do know that in that moment, I had not missed an opportunity.

How can we become more cognizant of opportunities in the midst of our daily lives ?

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