Life Lessons

It’s been a while since I’ve been in 3rd and 4th grade, but it’s been entertaining (and somewhat educational) to have a Reading class in the room next to my office. This week they’ve been learning about figurative language. Honestly, I don’t remember when I first learned metaphors, alliterations and onomatopoeia (I googled to find that spelling) but I know I’m incredibly grateful for the teachers who showed me what they are and how they work. But, while I was learning it, I’m sure I wondered how I would ever use them in ‘real life’.
But those figures of speech came up again while I was in college and seminary. Obviously in my line of work having similes and idioms are more important than for others (it helps keep sermons a little more interesting). But I think we all have things in our life that we wondered why we had to learn that lesson.
And, often, those lessons weren’t in the classroom, right? As we walk though life and experience various circumstances and people, we wonder why we have to deal with this. But hopefully, if you’re a thoughtful person, you might ask, what can I learn from this experience.
And what I mean is that often we just don’t want to deal with life. I’ve seen numerous times (especially these last few months) memes or posts on FB that say something about being done adulting, or at least taking a break. And I’m the same way. I look at my kids and I just think that, if only for a few days, it’d be great to walk in their shoes.
But, then, I remember all the life experiences that I’ve had and the opportunities and joy that it’s brought me. I then I remember how scary being little can be, and especially the horrors of junior high! And then I remember that all those hard and difficult and circumstantial lessons that I’ve learned from in my life has brought me to a pretty great place today. If you took even one or two lessons away, I might not have learned to deal with life the way I do now.
The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope…” (5.3-4, TLB)
So the next time our kids wonder why they have to learn something, remind them that hopefully they’ll continue to learn their entire life. Because when we fail to continue to learn, we fail to develop as people. When we fail to develop as people, life becomes increasingly difficult. I pray, then, that we can be thankful for opportunities to learn, both in the classroom and in our day to day lives. God bless.