Sometimes I forget how old I am. There is nothing like a really hard trial to transform you into a child again—a student—trying to learn the lessons of life so that the pain will stop and peace will replace it.
In church, the old hymn “Nearer, My God, to Thee” opened its treasure to me. I’ve sung it a hundred times in my life, at least. Probably more. And never “heard” it.
“Nearer, My God, to Thee”
Verse 3:
“There let the way appear,
Steps unto heaven;
All that thou sendest me,
In mercy given . . .”
Oh! I get it! God in mercy sends us the growth opportunities, life’s hard lessons: tragedies, trials, insurmountable difficulties. Why is it merciful for us to suffer?
Because the way appears . . . the path opens up . . . steps unto heaven.
It is because He loves us, in mercy He let’s us learn. He orchestrates learning. Just like any good parent. We do it too, for our child’s benefit.
Verse 4:
“. . . so by my woes, I’ll be
Nearer, my God, to thee
Nearer, my God, to thee,
Nearer to thee!”
Our woes can draw us to God, if we allow them to. Nearer to God. The hard things are really the door opener so we can learn to know God. Challenges disguise themsevles as obstacles, but they are really stepping stones.
The speaker at church talked about Happiness. He said, “my hobby is to be happy”. I thought to myself how very much I need to make it a conscious decision, to make happiness a hobby for me, too, since I am often overwhelmed, frazzled, frustrated, and hurt by the grinding day-by-day challenge of Ammon’s recovery. At the peak of a very difficult few weeks, Ammon told me I didn’t smile anymore. I hadn’t realized. Happiness a hobby . . . it is by our own choice and effort that we smile, that we count our blessings, that we feel gratitude and focus on the good things.
The speaker’s formula for happiness:
1- Gratitude
2- Serving Others
3- Personal Integrity
4- Forgiving
5- Being considerate (. . . and I would add: never judging others)
We already know those things are what make us happy, but it is easy to forget to choose them when life gets intense. ”Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:21
If pain is the rocky path leading one nearer to God, so be it. It would be a small price. Soul stretching lessons are difficult to live through, but the education they provide is priceless.
I want to learn.
God, help me want to learn.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I'd sure love to hear your comment!
Dear Diane,
Thank you so much for sharing this. I read it shortly after you posted it, but came back to it today so I could write some of it in my journal. My father-in-law passed away in February after a short fight with cancer and this hymn was beautifully sung at his funeral. I have lost count of how many times it has been sung at church since then. Surely it has been many more times than usual! Every time, I am reduced to tears, and even if I hold it together for most of it, when we get to "steps unto heaven", I lose it there. It was such a blessing for me to read this. I feel like this hymn is my theme this year and what a beautiful perspective and opportunity to learn.
The reminder to chose to be happy is especially pertinent to me. I need to remind myself often that life may be hard, but it is also good. My attitude usually determines if things are going well or not, if I am handling things well or not. When I chose to be happy, life is so much better; situations and circumstances don't change, but I change and in turn my family changes.
Thank you for writing and serving us in the midst of your own overwhelming learning experience.
With love and gratitude,
Rebecca
Dear Diane,
I had this email files away from 2007 when I used your season wheel with my bigger kids.
Now with 4 under 6, I am trying to print another season calendar to use.
It won't work or find my file.
I searched your now blog and couldn't find it either.
If by any chance you have the file, would you be willing to email it to me?
Thanks so much,
Darci Salisbury
Knowing Your Way Around Time
Hi darci,
One of the trickiest concepts for little children to understand is the idea that the year rotates around, and starts again with a new numbered year. My "year chart" can help. Print it off and post it on your schoolroom wall, and go over it often with your 4-8 year olds. Asking them questions and talking about the months of the year will help them practice and gain understanding of the passage of time. Put the birthdays of each family member in your year, too, as that is a big event for the young ones. Also note the main holidays.
I teach that the year begins at the top of the chart with the division line between December and January. Then it advances one year forward in number (2006, 2007, 2008 . . . ) every time we pass that mark again, like a spiraling circle. A slinky toy or other coil or spring makes a good hands-on object lesson tohelp them see how each circle (year) connects to the next.
I also point out that the seasons divide the circle evenly. December, January, February are the 3 months that make winter; March, April and May are the spring months; June, July, August are summertime months and September, October and November make up the autumn season.
Here are some of the kinds of questions that I ask:
*What month is your birthday in? Point to it.
*When do we go swimming? (summer)
*What month do the leaves begin to turn red? (September)
*How many months are there in spring? Name them (March, April, May)
*In what month do we send valentines? (February)
*How many months are there in the year? Count them. (12)
*What month are we in now? (November)
*How many more months until Christmas? (one)
Singing the "Months of the Year" song* as you point to each month's name and picture helps a lot. This is basically the names of the months put to music. A great trick for older children who have mastered the names of the months is to hold their fists side-by-side and say the names of the months as they touch the knuckle bones, or the "valleys" between the knuckles. The "knuckle months" have 31 days. As an adult, I still use this trick to figure out how many days in a month.
This is so beautiful Diane. I pray for you and Ammon on your journey. Your wisdom astounds me and I thank you for it as I travel on my own difficult journey.
I especially appreciate your last line, "God, help me want to learn." I am really struggling with my own situation and it's not even bad! I struggle with the guilt for struggling, too.
Thank you Diane for sharing your insight. I am in the process of learning some of those same things. It is amazing to think that nothing that we experience in life will be useless or wasted if we stay turned toward God.
Thank you for sharing these thoughts, Diane! So, so good for me to dwell on… We really need each other on this journey, don't we?
God bless you today,
Pauline