Anticipation and Rest

I'm sitting surrounded by open luggage and last-minute tasks, checking off lists and then adding more to the same lists. I leave today for five weeks in Kenya, Africa, and I'm trying to make sure I'm ready...

There's something about traveling which stirs excitement within me. The realization of how much is out of my control requires that I trust God more (or go out of my mind with anxiety!). As the Psalmist said, "As for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the LORD God my refuge, that I may declare all His works." (Ps. 73:28) I become more grateful all the time for circumstances which remind me that I cannot navigate my life on my own, because they make me lean upon my very big God.

Not that I'm naturally comfortable there. I like to know what's happening next so that I can feel ready for it (or so that I can fret about not being ready for it!). Like my students do all day long, I'm always asking Him "What are we going to do next?" The routine is oddly similar to when I pass out materials, and before the directions can leave my lips, the sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth fills the room: "Miss Djerf, I don't know what to do!" I find myself panicking and whining much the same...

Lately, like a good teacher, He's been handing words I've spoken back to me: "Listen, whose job is it to have the plan? Don't you think I have one? Do you think I know how to give you directions about this? Do I ever give you a project and just stand there? NO! Now, if you'll just chill out, I'll tell you what to do, one step at a time." (He usually says them more kindly than they sounded coming from me the first time.) Just chill out.

One verse I'd like to get into my heart these days is Hebrews 4:9-10: "There remains, therefore, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." As I travel across the ocean, expecting to serve Christ there, I want to place my confidence in His plan and His work, not my own. This verse alludes the the people of Israel who weren't allowed to enter the promised land because they refused to believe that God would fight their battles for them. They chose to rely upon themselves (and subsequently wallow in their own inabilities), and God disqualified them from the promise. He wanted them to participate in His big-ness, to be in the midst of the battle and see His mighty hand fight for them. He wanted them to move forward and rest in who He is.

I know He wants that rest for me on this trip, a rest that's different from sleep. It's participating wholeheartedly in whatever He has for me to do, but doing it "with the strength that God supplies." (1 Peter 4) I can relax because the work is not mine, it's His. So is the plan. And so am I. Therefore, I can rest, whether or not I know what's next...

Each to His Own (or, Appliance-Based Creativity)

As she was loading the dishwasher recently, Tiffany told me about an advertisement she'd seen for a washer and dryer which don't require the adding of soap or fabric softener.

Since I don't struggle to remember detergent, I can't imagine that I would pay any extra money for a washing machine which would remember it for me. Clearly, I'm not in their target market, but someone out there must be, right?

I asked Tiff what she'd pay extra for, and she said a desk which could automatically sort and file the papers she placed on it would be worth every penny.

Since that day, a tiny portion of my brain has continued to imagine uncommon appliance features that WOULD speak to my pocketbook. Here's the beginning of my list (including Tiff's magic desk, of course):

• If I were in the market for a washing machine, which I'm not, I'd pay more for one which would wail or honk until I came to switch the clothes. I've always wondered why they don't make washers buzz like dryers do.
• On a similar note, I'd have to buy the dishwasher which would prevent me from walking away from the dishwasher after loading it WITHOUT starting it...
• A blender which could clean itself would turn my head,
• as would a refrigerator which disposed of its own forgotten leftovers.

One of my fifth-grade drama students told us last week that she's always wanted a locker with a snow-cone machine inside. Can't say I understand, but most of the team thought it was inspired...

What appliance feature (ridiculous, inspired, or otherwise) would sing a siren song to your credit card? If you have one, post it as a comment so others can see it too... Perhaps we can inspire some aspiring inventor somewhere!

Overheard at Northside Lately...

It's been a soggy few weeks, so full of field trips, report cards, and end-of-year projects that many a blog post has turned to mush. Only a few bits survived, mostly overheard quotes scribbled on post-it notes, scavenged from my desk as I cleaned it off for the summer. Here they are, without further ado:

A fourth grader admonishing the goalie during a game of floor hockey:
“Just a little warning: when you’re goalie and I’m coming, block it and then get out of the way, cause I don’t stop so good.”

Conversation with a kindergartener accused of pushing:
Me: “Did you push Jason?”
P: (Pauses, eyes on floor) “No.”
Me: “What did you do?”
P: “I ran him over.”

A first grader after I announced we were going to do something new:
“Is it landscaping? ‘Cause I’ve done LOTS of landscaping!”

A first grader, who had to take a bathroom break in the middle of a class “running in place” contest, on re-entering the contest:
“And guess what, Miss Djerf? I didn’t stop running the entire time I was at the bathroom!”

And, finally, a conversation in our classroom the last week of school:
P: (sighs) “I love Miss Djerf. Miss Djerf is the best teacher.”
E: “Yeah.”
P: “And she really loves children.”
E: (Alarmed) “But she’s not married!”
P: “She loves children!”
E: (Even more alarmed) “BUT SHE’S NOT MARRIED!”
Me: “Awww…what am I going to do without you guys this summer?”
I: “Find a boyfriend!”