The Center of God's Will

Yesterday a thought came to me as I was sitting in a Head Start classroom observing the layout of the room. In a Head Start classroom everything is about centers. If there is two much open space the children will want to run and play. It is hard to get them to concentrate on any one thing. The answer is to divide the room into learning centers. There is, for instance, a block center, an art center, a science center, etc. Each center has dividers on both sides to help the children concentrate on the task they are involved in at the moment. Even the tables  in the classroom are arranged in a way that minimizes open space to discourage running. You see, children are distracted so easily that the teacher must help them to concentrate only on the task at hand. When it is time for them to change centers they will told to switch up.

In a way, our lives are a reflection of the classroom. There are so many choices in life. It is easy to spend a lot of valuable time worrying about what we should be doing next or what the will of God is for our lives. The truth of the matter is that God wants us to be happy and content with what we are doing at the present. We should consider that the place we are in now is God's will. If our own bad choices have put us where we are, then we simply do the best we can and trust God to move us into a better place when it is time. If we will do our best in that center then he will tell us when it is time to move on.

Jesus said. "except you become as little children you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven." This goes against our desire for independence. But the truth is that we were not meant to control our own destiny. Yes, we have choices to make, but in the end His knowledge and understanding is so much better than our own. Sometimes children will not want to quit playing in a certain area but the teacher knows it is time to do something different. It would not be good for the child to play with the blocks all day. The teacher must be gentle yet firm about insisting that the child move on to a new activity.

Not only do we humans not like to wait, we don't like change either. If something seems uncomfortable or unfamiliar, we try to avoid it. Yet just like the child who must try something new for the first time, sometimes God must force us into incomfortable situations for us to learn and grow. Instead of fighting this, why not ask God to help us see each new phase of our lives as a learning situation? It would make the time spent in that center so much easier. You see, we can learn a lot from a Head Start classroom. When we think about it, we big children are no so much different from the small children after all.

Thoughtfully,

Rev. Sullivan Jones


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