Random Thoughts

Random Thought #1: I was talking to my Dad on skype the other day. My nieces are staying with my parents for the week to go to camp. The other morning, on the way to camp, my Dad was praying with them. He started by thanking God for the weather, for their health, for the girls going to camp, and so on. Then Ellie (8) prayed, "Thank You Jesus for dying on the cross for our sins." Dad said that after that he felt like such a jerk. Here he is a pastor and missionary and praying simple prayers because he thought that's all they would recognize. But then his grandaughter prayed, thanking God for His atonement. Kids are amazing. No wonder Jesus tells us to have "faith like a child."

Random Thought #2: Yesterday I was working in my office at school. One of my students, whose mother works in the office, came to see me. He said he was bored sitting in his mom's office, so he thought he would come see if I needed any help with anything. I had him help me move all of my Physics lab equipment from one classroom to another. We got to talking about our summer and other random topics. Then we started to talk about dating, relationships, and what we believe God intended marriages to look like. We came to the conclusion that no matter what, we have to always trust the Lord in everything and pray about all things in our lives. After our conversation he said, "This is what is different about our school." I said, "What?" He said, "That we can talk to our teachers about stuff." I thought about it. He's right. Our school is special because the kids can feel safe to talk to their teachers about all kinds of matters, and they know their teachers will be real with them. I'm very thankful for that. This is one of the reasons why I love my job.

Random Thought #3: In my quiet time this morning, I was reading about Miriam (Moses' sister) and how she had that moment when she questioned Moses' authority and ability to lead the Israelites. In doing so, she was also questioning and undermining God's authority because God was the One who had placed Moses in that position. It caused me to reflect on myself. I am very much like Miriam. I often question those in authority over me and have a hard time submitting to them. But I realized this morning that when I do that, I am also undermining God's authority and I am ultimately not trusting in His sovereign plan. God is the One who has allowed for those different individuals to be in leadership over me and I have to respect and obey them. This doesn't mean I have to agree with decisions they may make, but I need to submit to their authority anyways. They will have to answer to God for the decisions they have made while in leadership, and I will have to answer to God for my attitude and the way I have responded towards them.