"On Being Schooled By A Child"

A general, common consensus is held that children are in need of being taught, that the adults are the ones with the knowledge, experience, and understanding, and the poor helpless little things know nothing.  There is no question our children need examples and role models, guidance and support.  However, as adults, we can learn a great deal from them.

Picking up the grandgirls from school, we had headed straight to a dental appointment, and I was catching up on the lives of a 4th- and a 6th-grader as we drove.  The conversations always have a lot of giggles interspersed, and the radio wasn't allowed to be turned on, as I wanted to visit with them. 

They took their homework into the office to work on while waiting.  "Do you know how to do exponents, Gram Gram?"  asked the older one.  I gulped, feigning bravado.

 “Well, let's look," I said.  Fortunately, enough math from long ago had remained, and we were able to work on it together.  Assignment completed.

"I'm going to need some help, Gram Gram.  Will you help me?" questioned the little one. 

"Of course."  She began working, and it was quickly apparent she really needed no help at all.  Legs propped up on an ottoman, notebook in her lap, she tackled the assignment, that of renaming numbers in a variety of ways. 

As she got to the bottom of the page, she peered up at me.  Very quietly, as though she was telling me a secret, she said, "We had a test, and we had to do this same kind of work.  When I finished, I wrote a little note to my teacher--'Thank you for teaching me these strategies.'  There was some space left on the page so I just wrote it."

To say I was dumbfounded, speechless would be an understatement.  What 9-year-old child even thinks that way?  This one does, and the beauty of it is that she has no idea how atypical her approach to people and to life is.  She's simply being herself.  This is who and what she is.   

The little pit bull took me to school yesterday. This time it was on the value of expressing appreciation and thanks.  But then she schools me often on other aspects of living a virtuous life as well.  

Some of life's greatest lessons are learned at the hands of, or from the mouths of, children.  Listen, pay attention, give them time and respect, and we are all enriched. 


"...and a little child shall lead them."  Isaiah 11:6
"I tell you the truth.  Unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3









       

  

  

"On Grievances and Healing"

The thorn finally came to the surface, so it could readily be removed.  It was minute, not even the size of an eyelash, but it had been plaguing me for several weeks, and I had been unable to remove it.  I had probably got it when I was either cutting back roses or transferring the branches to my truck to haul away.  It was, however, firmly planted in a part of my thumb where I was aware of it daily, whenever pressure was applied.  The thing of it, though—the recovery mechanism of my body had healed over it, and it wasn’t even visible.  Felt, but unseen.

grievance:  something which causes grief; a wrong or hardship suffered, which is the ground of a complaint

Unresolved grievances are like thorns, slivers, stickers hidden within our beings.  They can’t be seen by looking at a person, as they are covered up, buried, invisible to the eye; however,  slight contact, a bit of pressure, and a reaction comes forth.  “Where did that come from?” an observer may wonder.

There are two categories of grievances:  those wrongs which are perceived and those which are valid. 

Perceived wrongs are exactly that—personal injury or hurt based on my perception, how I saw a situation or experience, not necessarily reality.  For example, the "rude" clerk or waitress who was abrupt, but had just received news of a terminal illness in her family; the vehicle which just cut traffic off, the driver going at breakneck speed, on his way to the emergency room.  None of these are personal. 

Those which are valid are exactly that—personal injury, damage, or hurt, physical or otherwise, at the hand of another.

But it does not matter a whit which of those we carry within.  Valid or perceived, if they are not dealt with, they fester and grow.

I daresay we have all had personal grievances we have carried, some for a lifetime.  They begin early in infancy, a baby expressing protest over the fact of being placed in bed against its will.  “It’s not fair,” is an often-heard outcry in a family, whether it’s due to a sibling being given favored treatment or being told “No.” 

Fast forward to adulthood, and things really don’t change.  Labor unions and employers have a detailed, intricate system to deal with issues of wrongdoing.  Business relationships, marriages, friendships--someone is always being hurt, or so it seems. 

In comparing one’s life with another, inequality in treatment, one's lot in life, is often an unspoken assessment. 

Have you heard the comment, “I may forgive, but I don’t forget?”  This is what I’m talking about--grievances which are held against another, be it a family member, a friend, employer, the government, a spouse, minister—the list is endless.  They stack up within, tainting one’s life.

There is another point to this discussion, though, and it is that of holding a grievance against God.  I maintain the crux of what we deem as personal is, in truth, directed toward Him.  It is not always an easy truth to see, and it means digging deep, but mankind is very angry with Him over the state of the world and everything in it.  "Why????" is the outcry. "Why is there so much hardship, tragedy, loss, poverty, war?"  There is a lack of understanding, and it becomes personal and  blame is cast on Him, not to be forgiven nor forgotten. 

How does one deal with grievance and experience healing, living free of the venom it produces and creates within a person?  How is one even aware?  Seek truth, seek light, seek life.  In that and that alone can healing take place and freedom be found. 

My thumb is healed.  I’m always pleasantly surprised at the difference removal of a finite object makes.  The same goes for the inner.