Deliver me, O LORD, by your hand from those whose
portion in life is this world. Psalm
17:14
Teach me,
O LORD, the way of Your statutes, and I shall keep it to the end. Give me
understanding, and I shall keep Your law; I shall keep it with all my heart.
Make me go in the path of Your commandments, for that is my desire. Incline my
heart to Your decrees and not to unjust gain. Turn my eyes from watching what
is worthless; give me life in Your ways. Fulfill your promise to Your servant,
which You make to those who fear you. Turn away the reproach which I dread,
because Your judgments are good. Behold, I long for Your commandments; in Your
righteousness preserve my life. Psalm
119:33–40
The
third question asks: At what stage of
life are you at?
This is certainly one of
those verses that I have never particularly noticed before, but as a middle
school teacher it strikes a whole new chord of terror…with just the slightest
of paraphrasing…from those whose portion in life is middle school.
In fact, I often say
that this is why I teach middle school, to defend those who need deliverance
from the sleek, smug vicious ones who rule middle school with a sneer and
disdaining word.
Because middle school is
mostly the other sorts, the slightly trembling awkward ones desperately seeking
validation mingled with creeping-around-the-edges anonymity. And they never
quite measure up because they are eyeing a false scale of shimmering perfection
that doesn’t really exist outside of eternity.
And like my Father who
walks alongside me through this life, murmuring His love for me and His great
validation of me, His beloved child, this is how I want to walk through my
rather long day: You are loved. You are delightful. You have a purpose.
Because middle school,
like life is not pretty. Yesterday my sub from last week left a little note
tucked into my laptop: Hi. Not going to lie to you.
This was ranked the #3 in the hardest classes I ever had since 2003. I had
fights, one girl actually stabbed a boy with a pen, I had pens, pencils, markers
and erasers thrown around and kids running out of class all of the time. I
survived one whole week. I totally give you 100% credit for surviving as long
as you have. Take care,
Because this is my stage in life right now. I
have made it through the Slough and the Valley of Humiliation and Vanity Fair
and now see the Delectable Mountains stretching with glorious perspective in
the distance. And like my Abba Papa, I want to be a kind and wise Shepherd who
encourages wayfarers along the path. Oddly enough it was the slightly frumpy
old priest passing out rosaries on The
Way that called me to make that pilgrimage.
And riding through the desert, those old
Catalinas rise up in my distance, and once again remind me from whence comest
my strength. And the rain-drenched creosote pierces through the early morning
mist.
Turn my
eyes from watching what is worthless; give me life in Your ways.
