I Can Only Imagine

Sundays are my favorite day. The slowness allows me to reconnect to what matters as I begin another week. If only every day could start with a refreshing run followed by church and a coffee shop. I suppose if it happened more than once a week, I wouldn't cherish my Sundays.

The current series at church that we are exploring is titled "Eternity." I enjoy theology and learning new elements of my faith, and because of that, I feel like these past few weeks were designed just for me. The minister is teaching about the realities of heaven and hell. There are so many questions, and there is only one place to turn for the answers: the Bible. I'm deeply interested in learning more about the glory of heaven and all that the Lord has in store for those that have accepted His grace. This morning through scripture, the minister painted a beautiful picture of heaven. I left excited about eternal life. This may sound strange, and I don't wish to die, but learning about heaven allows me to draw closer to my God. I have a better understanding of His love and a deeper yearning to love like Him.

As I sit in my favorite coffee shop, I am listening to the song "I Can Only Imagine" by MercyMe. I remember when this song first came out; I was in high school. I'll never forget the conversation I had with a friend that said she felt the song was a little sad. I didn't understand why she felt that way, possibly because it's about death. I responded by saying that I thought it was up-lifting. I still feel this way because, to me, this song represents to greatness of heaven. God gave His son so that we could receive the gift of eternal life. In no way is that sad; the idea of heaven leaves me smiling. This song also reminds me of my Grandma Earleen. She died around the time when this song came out. It was the first real death that I had lived through, and it was a lot harder than I ever imagined. Listening to the words of this song helped me realize that my grandma is in a wonderful place, and I will see her again some day. Bittersweet, but mostly sweet for followers of Jesus Christ.

About these essays I'm supposed to be grading...

Remember Why

Usually Friday nights for me end up one of two ways: dead and passed out on the couch by 8pm or pumped up and out with friends. Tonight my mood lands somewhere in between. I had a really great week. A few hiccups, but overall, school went well and I started a new workout plan, which always leaves me hopeful.

As I was walking around helping students with their writing today, I had one of those moments when I remembered why I started teaching. I'm not sure if I've ever shared my story, so here it goes...

I began at UNI with my heart set on majoring in anything but education. Everyone assumed that would be my field of interest, and I was dead set on proving them wrong. After taking classes in the Communication department, I fell in love with the content. Upon graduating, I worked in the marketing field for only six months before realizing that God had a different plan for me. I was sitting at my sister's basketball game (she a junior at the time), and the atmosphere of the high school felt so right. I started praying about it and finally built up the courage to have a conversation with my parents. Without hesitation, they agreed to support my decision. I continued to pray. One Sunday at church, I heard a message about how God uses our talents. I was unfulfilled at my marketing position and knew that God had much more in store for me. The summer after graduating with my first degree, I began my journey to become an English teacher. I never looked back. 

I chose the English field because writing has always been easy for me. I jump at any chance to write. I also feel very passionate about the importance of writing and reading. While students may not see the relevance of reading classic literature, exercising their brains by reading and analyzing is essential. But, more than anything, the reason I became a teacher is to give a voice to my students. I've said it before, but teenagers are smart. They have so many wonderful ideas, and in my classroom, they get to share them. Lately I've been reading about being a light in dark places. "Be the light that allows others to see." I strive to be a light for my students. When students leave my room, I want them to know that I value their ideas because they matter.

I looked around my classroom today and remembered the "why." When is the last time you did the same? 

The Unknown

One of my favorite groups in music today is Anthem Lights. They are known for their cover music, but they are also an amazing Christian band that speaks boldly to their listeners. Recently, I was browsing through their music, and I came across a song titled "The Unknown." The guys also shared a video explaining the meaning behind the song. In a world of uncertainties, it's a great message that we all need to remember.

After listening, I had a few thoughts:

+ Life isn't meant to be comfortable. I always refer back to a quote by Rick Warren, "Life is a series of problems: Either you are in one now, you're just coming out of one, or you're getting ready to go into another. The reason for this is that God is more interested in your character than your comfort. God is more interested in making your life holy than He is in making your life happy." I always come back to this when I'm struggling. It's not about me; it's about the person God wants me to become.

+ Timing doesn't make sense to us. "Trust God's timing." People say it all the time; however, it still seems so difficult to surrender time to Him. But the funny thing is, time is already His. Not only are our lives planned out by Him, but He was the maker of time from the beginning. The past has been carved by Him as well as the future. Our job is strictly to have faith in the process.

+ We all want to know what's right around the corner. This goes without saying, and we become frustrated when we can't picture what lies ahead. And even if we do have a pretty good picture in our minds, God may or may not have an entirely different vision for us. The unknown is scary, yet many of us continue to worry about it.

+ All the things that we worry or pray about are not shocking to God, for He has designed them. They have been placed in our lives to strengthen us. While we hate the unknown, we must remember to keep the faith. When we begin to worry about the future, know that God is already there, waiting for us.

The Art of Openness

I've always hated the saying, "Ignorance is bliss." This couldn't be further from the truth. Not knowing or understanding shouldn't consider this blissful. In fact, it's the complete opposite. Continuing to be ignorant and not open to learning more is a disservice to ourselves and those around us. Instead, we should be open to the opportunities to learn and grow.

The idea of "openness" has been following me around the past few weeks. I am in love with learning, and it's impossible to do so without an open mind.  Along with that comes admitting when we are wrong. The times when I've learned the most are when I was way off base in the first place. In education, we call these "teachable moments." We haven't necessarily set out to learn about something; it just happens. I can promise you that these rich opportunities don't come with a closed mind. Open minds help to dissolve ignorance and improve the possibilities of learning. The art of openness.

By opening our minds, our eyes and hearts are not far behind. If we are willing to learn more, we begin to see things differently. Everything becomes a possibility rather than just another mundane part of life. Slowing down and really seeing life is pretty amazing. It bothers me that people think they need to walk beaches in the Caribbean or climb the Rocky Mountains in order to see beauty. With open eyes, we don't have to travel to see great things. With open eyes, I see a struggling student excel on an essay or a perfect sunset on a chilly run. The art of openness.

Without sounding too trite, the open heart is probably my favorite. We were designed to be loved and love others. Kindness pours from us when our hearts our open. I have been focused most on opening my heart to more than just my friends and family, but to everyone that I encounter. It may sound like a crazy idea -- loving a stranger, but with this comes a great sense of peace. Kindness and love are contagious. Why wouldn't we want to spread them? We must open our hearts, sharing these great things with everyone we meet on our paths. The art of openness.

Persistence in Prayer

I always tell people that my faith is really important to me, and it is. Have you ever stopped to think about what faith actually means? Yes, I'm a Christian. Yes, I prayer and go to church. I believe; however, I am imperfect. I fall short, and it is usually in the area of trust and prayer. 

Trust. As I was thinking about faith this morning, I realized that faith doesn't happen without trust. In fact, faith essentially is trust. It's believing that God will provide according to His plan. When life gets hard and even scary, faith is trusting that it will all be okay because God makes all things work together for good. So when my engine light goes on, I have trouble forgiving a friend, or a student's mother passes away suddenly, I surrender it all to Him. Faith is trusting when God tests us on every level. 

Trust is also learning to be persistence. If we stop to think about it, when we want to see a change, we make a change. That doesn't mean we change for two weeks and then revert back to old habits. No, it means that we are persistent about changing. Prayer works the same way. We get discouraged when our prayers are not answered, causing us to lose trust - lose faith. God values persistence. He never tires from hearing from us. Prayer might be messy, but that's okay. God delights in that too. In order to fully trust Him, we have to be connected throughout the day, whispering little prayers to guide us. We have to trust that the fearful parts of life have been placed upon our journey for a reason. God is checking our persistence. He's humbling us so that we remember where our faith should be -- with Him.