Live and Learn

"the teacher with the student"

1 Chronicles 25:8

We're only days away from starting up school again.  We've gotten our books, and we're each cleaning off the shelves to set things up and get organized for a new year.  New folders, sharpened pencils, etc.

My Awesome Girl is a little more eager than my Amazing Boy to start.  They both do their best when they sit down to learn, but he takes a little more encouraging before he'll actually sit down.  She, on the other hand, does schoolwork on vacations and days off.   Voluntarily.  How many kids do you know do that?

So in the past few days, she has cracked open a couple of her textbooks.  Not at the beginning, mind you.  She's all about organization, and she likes to start Page One on Day One. 

But she's been looking through the books, familiarizing herself.  And math books always have exercises in the front.  Sort of aptitude tests, to make sure a student has learned what they need to be at that level.  So she does those.  Not to make sure she's at the right level, but to get back in the swing of things.  And simply because she likes learning. 

But this is the same child, who many, many moons ago, made an interesting statement to me. 

We were discussing life lessons at the time.  As opposed to school lessons, that is.  And I was saying something about the things God teaches us through the circumstances in our lives.  And she said to me with a sigh, "Mom, sometimes I don't want to learn; I just want to know."

Boy, I hear that.  There are some lessons that are hard to learn.  Sometimes the things we have to go through, we have to go through for a long time.  Or we have to watch someone we love going through a trial, while God works on both of us. 

It's not just about knowledge.  Knowledge is wonderful, and important.  But we can't get there without the learning process.  At least most of the time, we can't.   We prize knowledge.  But maybe we should appreciate the learning a little bit more.

~ "Blessed is the man whom You instruct,

O Lord,

and teach out of Your law" ~

Psalm 94:12

~