Heard that Before

As I was picking up my children from their classes Sunday night one of their teachers tapped my arm and whispered that she would like to talk to me about one of my children. Of course my heart dropped, and I quickly glanced around to see. . . I don't know what I glanced around to see. I guess I wanted to see that all of my children were on their feet and blood free. As I glanced I didn't see any noticeable problems, and the teacher seeing my distress quickly reassured me it wasn't a big deal. While getting the kids from their classrooms the child in question zoomed past with a quick "Here's my Bible, Mom." Hoping to gain some knowledge on the problem I asked if everything went okay in class and was given the chipper "I obeyed and there were no problems" answer. Now I was really curious about the forth coming conversation because this child seemed oblivious to any issue.

After sending the kids to find their Dad I returned with trepidation to the teacher to find out what was going on. As the story began to unfold I found myself both saddened and trying not to smile at the same time. Saddened to hear that my child was rude to their teacher and prideful in expressing their unhappiness in hearing a Bible story they already knew. Yet, I had to hold back as smile as I couldn't believe my ears. My child was repeating something I had done when I was a child. I vividly remember sitting in a Sunday School class and the teacher announcing the story would be Daniel in the Lion's Den. I think I was in the fourth grade, and I had definitely heard that story many times. I think in my heart I truly wanted to know if there was more to the Bible than Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, Daniel, Jonah, and Baby Jesus. My problem came in how I expressed this desire. I don't remember exactly what I said, but I'm pretty sure it came across self-righteous and rude. I can recall to this day the teacher's direct rebuke though. She pointed to the door and informed me that I could leave the class if I didn't want to participate. That shut me up really quickly, and I don't think I ever spoke up in class again.

So there I stood twenty some odd years later on a different continent speaking a different language and yet still dealing with the same issue. Thankfully this teacher didn't angrily rebuke my child but encouraged this child to participate in the class. Then she wisely informed me of the problem so I could address my child at home. After clearly understanding the attitudes, words, and situation I apologized and reassured the teacher that I would definitely be talking with my child about this.

As I walked away I had to check my own heart and decide how to best handle this conversation with my child. I really wanted to grab them and say "what in the world were you thinking?" and yet, somehow I knew what they were thinking. I had walked this path before myself. I had heard this lesson before.

I decided not to confront the issue head on but to let the conversation naturally develop as we ate our after church snack and discussed what we had learned that night at church. As the frustration was expressed and the eyes rolled about hearing "a lesson we already knew" I was able to address how important it is to honor our teachers with our attitudes and words. I reminded my children that although they might already know the story other children in the class might not. Their attitudes and actions affects others and the atmosphere in the classroom. Most importantly I wanted them to also understand that we can always learn something new from the Bible. I showed them how just that morning I had read a verse in Job that I don't ever remember reading. Their eyes got big as I explained that though I had read Job "a thousand times" I don't ever remember reading, "All his brothers and sisters and everyone who had known him before came and ate with him in his house. They comforted and consoled him over all the trouble the LORD had brought upon him, and each one gave him a piece of silver and a gold ring. (Job 42:11)" Wow, where did that verse come from? If I had to re-tell the story of Job I would have gone straight from verse ten where Job prayed for his friends and God blessed him with double to verse twelve where it describes how God blessed him. I don't ever remember reading about comforters and people giving him gifts, and it was like verse eleven jumped off the page as I was reading. It was neat to watch my children's reaction as I told them that I had learned something new. I was able to teach them the great thing about God's Word: It is living and powerful. No matter how many times we've heard the story we can always learn something new as we come to it with fresh problems, thoughts, ideas, and issues.

Whether this important life lesson was learned around our kitchen table Sunday night only time will tell, but I sure learned that life lessons sometimes have a funny way of repeating themselves.