They Walked in the Rain of His Mercy

Some of my best writing is NOT done late at night on the last day of school before Christmas break, so we’ll see how this turns out :)

I have labored hard and long to get to this point in the school year—the “half-way” mark (although technically not halfway until January 13th or so). My day has been tiring, as most of my days seem to have been lately. I’m tired physically, I’m tired mentally, and I’m pretty tired spiritually as well. It’s been a tough first year of teaching, but not in ways that you might first think. Being with people always brings out the sin in your heart, and being with 21 selfish people brings it out even more. My impatience, my unkindnesses, and my frustrations have been highlighted in new and scary ways this semester. There’s been much sin to repent of and much “heart work” that’s had to be done. I’m eternally thankful that I am not without the Holy Spirit to guide and convict as I fail each day and fall so short of my own expectations, not to mention my Father's. Thankfully, Jesus has fulfilled the law where I cannot (which is in every way!).

Another frustration has been the sad evidence I have seen of adults who neglect the responsibility they have to parent their children. Somehow, school has replaced the family in ways that never should be. My students have no concept of what it means to be kind, no understanding of selflessness, and no idea even of how to apologize or to accept an apology. (Sadly, they remind me a lot of myself.) My responsibilities in the classroom far surpass meeting their academic needs as I also must model for them kindness, respect, love, cooperation, and all of the other qualities that should be taught by their parents.

In her book Fearlessly Feminine, Jani Ortlund says of godly parents, “In us, [children] experience what the world should be like. We are life’s mirrors to our children, reflecting warmth and friendship.” It’s sad that many parents have rejected this calling. That’s why my students just want to be entertained in their self-centered worlds where even they, as children, want to sit on the throne of their own lives. Sadly, at home they have been given the freedom to do what they want without any consequences for their behavior. Thus, I have seen that the result of this "non parenting" is that children have learned how to love themselves and not other people. Their sinful natures go unchecked and are given every opportunity to manifest themselves. This has significant repercussions on our society as these children become adults.

Elizabeth Prentiss in Stepping Heavenward said of a godly mother, "With her children she was a model disciplinarian, exceedingly strict, a wise lawmaker; nevertheless a most tender, devoted, self-sacrificing mother. I have never seen such exact obedience required and given, or a more idolized mother. ‘Mamma’s’ word was indeed law, but—O happy combination!—it was also gospel.”

I'm thankful for a "godly heritage" left to me not only by my parents but also by my Church body, where I do see parents joyfully taking on this high calling. I'm reminded of Andrew Peterson's song in which he sings about his own heritage of faith. What a privelege to leave such a legacy! “By the grace of God they walked in the rain of His mercy, let it soak them down to the bone. They splashed in its puddles and danced in its streams as they'd go. They walked in the rain of His mercy all the way home.” (Andrew Peterson)