What are you learning lately?

Once upon a time, I went on a retreat with my university's chapter of InterVarsity and a few hundred other IVCF members. The guy leading my small group told us the story of his and his wife's acquaintanceship. Apparently he had left a very unfavorable first impression on her, but despite her rebuff he stayed interested in her. (Don't go away. This is not a post on Christian dating. Stay with me!) So one day he's on Facebook and sees that she is online, so he messages her, "Hi!" She responds, "What has Jesus been teaching you lately?"

I heard that story quite a few years ago now, but that line is tucked away in my memory indelibly. You see, if that guy did not have an answer ready, he might not be married today. Again, this is not a post on dating. Or marriage. Or Christian pick-up lines. It is a post on learning. Christians all know somewhere in their minds that they should read the Bible. I read the Bible. But sometimes I have to ask myself: am I learning? am I paying attention or skimming verses? am I asking for the Lord to "open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things out of thy word"?

Some mornings I share a devotional with my homeroom students. Some mornings I'm not expecting to share a devotional, but for any number of reasons (like my own forgetfulness) I find that I am. My students don't have a question for me to answer, so I ask myself, "What has Jesus been teaching you lately?" Unless I have been faithfully reading and studying the Word, taking it in thoughtfully and prayerfully and delightedly, I do not have an answer ready. What kind of witness is that to much younger Christians?

Last time: the point of my comment is not that a Christian should have an answer ready so he or she can impress a Christian of the opposite gender. Or anyone else for that matter. No no no.

But I should know what I'm learning lately. If I don't, I have to take a step back and ask myself if I'm learning at all. There is, after all, so much to learn at the feet of Jesus.

Two Things

Summative updates are not my forte. I hover indecisively on any given fact or anecdote, wondering what would interest both home and not-home readers. Then I give up and log off Blogger. Pardon, therefore, my very brief commentary on two things currently on my mind. Let's think of it as a desperate attempt to rout a rather embarrassing-for-an-English-teacher writer's block. 

First, there are so very many things to appreciate about life in Malawi that I don't put in writing that I really, really should. For example, my dear lovely friend called my mosquito net a "fort" on FaceTime the other day, giving me a new appreciation for the translucent walls-within-walls. (Shout out to the same friend who reminds me that some people really do read my blog.) Also, the walk down the hill to school each morning is a very pretty walk, everyone here greets whoever is walking past her, marigolds grow as wildflowers in some places, and a gecko is on my ceiling. 

Second, the other day I finished reading Teaching Redemptively, a book read probably exclusively by Christian teachers pursuing, considering, or at least cognizant of ACSI certification. The book was an overload of information, which I tried desperately to condense into easily reviewed and remembered notes with my thread-bound notebook and Sharpie pens, and I sincerely hope a few things stuck in my teacher-brain, which I consistently picture as an already-saturated sponge under a running faucet. Here's one thing I haven't [thankfully] been able to forget: a Christian teacher cannot hold on to past success or praise. 

Can we have a confession time? I hold on to past successes. Sometimes I tick them off in my mind, just to reassure myself of my supposed qualifications to impart knowledge, as though a successful teacher is something measured by numbers on score reports. I find that I still think this way, as if days and weeks of encountering challenges relating to students, coworkers, books, and staple shortages have taught me nothing. I don't have a class rank anymore; I'm not putting that old GPA on my resume; and whatever I got on standardized tests really doesn't matter. I've been in serious error and what can I do but pray for wisdom to depend on grace instead of GPAs long filed and gone?