I’ve tried really hard to be a teacher blogger. Once in a while I get it right but more often
I miss my old blog where I just poured out my musings. So, if you’ll indulge me, perhaps once in a
while, I’ll pour out my musings here.
Starting now…
I love Easter almost as much as I hate Christmas. It sounds conflicting, I know, but at the
least it reassures me that I really do love Jesus. To me, Christmas is
confusing and chaotic, much like it must have felt for those living out the
nativity story. But the Easter story,
while painful in parts, is so much more… love, hope, and peace. To me, Easter brings clarity.
At our sunrise service today, I experienced clarity. I’m not one to often claim God speaks to me
directly, but this morning He did. As I
reflected on my faith and found myself asking Him yet again why my life doesn’t
look quite like most thirty-somethings on Easter morning (or any morning for
that matter), I clearly felt five words in my heart: “That was never for you.”
Jealousy is defined as, “an unhappy or angry feeling of
wanting to have what someone else has.” Is there a more powerful emotion? We see it in ourselves, we experience it our
relationships, and we try in vain to teach it out of our kids. I fight it every day in my classroom. “I
raised my hand first.” “He cut in front of me in line.” Or more seriously: “She
doesn’t want to play with me anymore.” “They never let me play football.” And don’t even get me started on trying to
play detective when petty objects or snacks get stolen out of desks, lunchboxes
and bookbags.
What is it deep
inside that makes us always want what someone else has?
It’s so hard not to think this way—not to focus on what we
don’t have instead of what we do have.
But Romans 8:11 says, “the Spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead
is living in you.” And I assure you His is not a jealous spirit in this way. In fact, it’s the opposite—humble,
sacrificial, and unselfish to a degree we can’t imagine. We get so hung up thinking it’s all about
us, especially in this social media driven world where pride and comparison
reign constant.
More often than not the things we get so hung up on were
never for us in the first place. We
aren’t missing out if it wasn’t in His plan.
We aren’t being punished and we don’t deserve better. All we deserved was the punishment He took
for us on the cross. He did so in order
to save us from eternal Hell and in the meantime from a life spent meaningless...
If there’s one thing I’m thankful for today and everyday,
it’s that.
