Puzzle Pieces

There are two things that I love to do when (if) I have spare time: read books and put puzzles together. Over the summer I read 17 books! It was awesome - now since school has started, I am struggling to finish #18 because of time. However, that did not stop me from opening a new puzzle that I bought this summer and spreading the pieces out on the dining room table (that's what a dining room table if for, right?). 

As I opened the box and began sorting through the pieces, my mind began to think of how much like a puzzle our own lives are. We want the picture on the box. The beautiful tapestry that fits together nicely, that is whole with clean edges and perfect lines. But what we often get is much different. We open the box of life to find that it is messy and broken and sometimes overwhelming. 

As we are sorting the pieces, we get glimpses of the beautiful picture we are striving for. Little tidbits of wholeness that keep us moving toward the ultimate goal of completion. Other times we stand sifting the pieces between our fingers wondering why we can't find that missing piece. And often we try to fit pieces into spaces where they don't belong. The key, though, is perseverance. 

Through perseverance we are able to see the completed picture. We are able to continue putting the pieces together until the beauty surfaces and our picture is realized. The more we work at it, the more we are attuned to the colors, patterns and shapes of the pieces. Soon we start seeing pieces that fit different sections even though we were looking for a specific part. 

This is what happens when we take our broken pieces to our Father. There will still be times when we stare at the chaos and wonder how we will ever be whole again, we will replay events (pieces) over-and-over in our minds wondering why we can't change a situation, or we try to make things happen our way. Remember trying to force pieces into places they don't belong? But the more we are known to God, the more we will see glimpses of the beauty that is yet to come. He will show us the pieces of the puzzle, even when we are searching for something else. 

So, persevere my friends! Keep sorting through those pieces so that you can see the picture that God has in store, the beautiful puzzle He has created called you.  

Philosophy of Education

I wrote the following paragraph as part of my Philosophy of Education:     

"Education is not limited to a classroom environment. It is available to us both formally and informally, and is in unlimited supply if we are willing to immerse ourselves in learning. It is also not limited to certain age groups, nor does it end at a certain point in our lives unless we choose to stop learning."

I believe this. I learn new things every day, and am on a continuing journey of becoming the best person I can be- the best person God has created me to be by studying and learning. However, I found myself very disgruntled about having to continue learning in a formal education environment. I found myself in a place that I warn others not to go to, a place of thinking that I had arrived at come epiphany that exempted me from being taught. 

I have a choice, a cross-roads. I can keep complaining about having to take these classes- the commute to Knoxville and the homework, or I can accept the fact that (in this case) a PhD is really NOT enough (who knew?) and keep learning. 

I can keep learning new ideas and techniques to make my classroom a better environment for my students. I can keep learning how to build better relationships with them. I can keep learning that there are experts in education that do, in fact, know more than me (:)) and learn to glean from the knowledge they are willing to share. 

Sort of like going to church on Sunday. Am I closed off to what our Pastor is saying, or am I open to learning the new things that the Holy Spirit is trying to teach me through his sermon? Do I go home and do my "homework?" Or do I walk out the church doors and not open my Bible again until the next Sunday? 

In both cases, I have a choice to act on what I believe or be a hypocrite by stating one thing and doing another. Today, I am choosing to keep learning, to keep growing, and keep bettering myself so that I can better those around me. What choice will you make? 

Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction"