Sometimes I Forget To Look Up
Since I earned my teaching degree twenty years ago, many students have crossed my path, and many have left deep impressions on my soul. Recently, one seared a lesson into my soul that I hope I won’t forget any time soon.
This particular student, who I will call Cynthia, had struggles that were foreign to me, not only as a student, but also as a child. A severe lack of self-confidence and a struggle to connect in any appropriate way to anyone impeded her learning and growth to the degree that the child was removed for a time from the normal school setting for one that was pronounced more appropriate for everyone involved.
After a time, when the trial period was over and progress was deemed suitable by the powers that be, she returned to school, facing the same gigantic obstacles as before, only this time she did so with a new connection—the guidance and love of a Christian teacher who had instructed and spent time with this difficult child daily during the prescribed time away. At first, it seemed that nothing much had changed, but after a few weeks of effort, Cynthia finally noticed that I spoke to her each day and offered words of praise and encouragement to her. This was duly noted to the homebound teacher who passed Cynthia’s delight on to me. She thought I was nice because she noticed that I said goodbye to her as she left my classroom that day. How this clenched my heart! My behavior was no different that day than it had been any of the days before. The difference was that it was finally noticed and received. Something within that child broke loose enough that she was able to look up and meet my eyes on her way out of the door that day. My farewell offering of, “Have a nice weekend!” resounded in her soul—that I thought her “worthy” of speaking to resonated with her enough to share it with her teacher.
The lesson I learned was valuable: sometimes, I too forget to look up and meet my Teacher in the eye. I forget to read the encouragement He offers me in His Word. I forget that He wants to communicate with me daily if I will just let Him. I forget that He valued me enough to send His own precious Son to die in my place. I forget that there is hope in a world that seems cruel and unjust and so complicated that some days I find it hard to get out of bed, much less put one foot in front of the other. The encouragement I get from looking up is beyond my ability to express. Sometimes, I’m much like Cynthia has been—looking down and finding no encouragement there. I too am tempted to lose heart, but I pray that the Lord will keep sending me students like Cynthia to remind me of the work He also wants to work out in me. I hope the following verse from II Corinthians 4:16-18 encourages you as it has me: “Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (NASB).
This particular student, who I will call Cynthia, had struggles that were foreign to me, not only as a student, but also as a child. A severe lack of self-confidence and a struggle to connect in any appropriate way to anyone impeded her learning and growth to the degree that the child was removed for a time from the normal school setting for one that was pronounced more appropriate for everyone involved.
After a time, when the trial period was over and progress was deemed suitable by the powers that be, she returned to school, facing the same gigantic obstacles as before, only this time she did so with a new connection—the guidance and love of a Christian teacher who had instructed and spent time with this difficult child daily during the prescribed time away. At first, it seemed that nothing much had changed, but after a few weeks of effort, Cynthia finally noticed that I spoke to her each day and offered words of praise and encouragement to her. This was duly noted to the homebound teacher who passed Cynthia’s delight on to me. She thought I was nice because she noticed that I said goodbye to her as she left my classroom that day. How this clenched my heart! My behavior was no different that day than it had been any of the days before. The difference was that it was finally noticed and received. Something within that child broke loose enough that she was able to look up and meet my eyes on her way out of the door that day. My farewell offering of, “Have a nice weekend!” resounded in her soul—that I thought her “worthy” of speaking to resonated with her enough to share it with her teacher.
The lesson I learned was valuable: sometimes, I too forget to look up and meet my Teacher in the eye. I forget to read the encouragement He offers me in His Word. I forget that He wants to communicate with me daily if I will just let Him. I forget that He valued me enough to send His own precious Son to die in my place. I forget that there is hope in a world that seems cruel and unjust and so complicated that some days I find it hard to get out of bed, much less put one foot in front of the other. The encouragement I get from looking up is beyond my ability to express. Sometimes, I’m much like Cynthia has been—looking down and finding no encouragement there. I too am tempted to lose heart, but I pray that the Lord will keep sending me students like Cynthia to remind me of the work He also wants to work out in me. I hope the following verse from II Corinthians 4:16-18 encourages you as it has me: “Therefore, we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (NASB).
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