I started my long practicum last Monday and the result has been me arriving at my placement school between 6:45 and 7:00 in the morning. No big deal, but it means I don't have quite as much time for contemplation in the morning. Add to the mix a cold I'm trying to fight before beginning my full-immersion teaching next week and a sore knee that has kept me from running, and I'm sure you can imagine what my mornings have looked like.
But this morning was different. Today I am meeting with the other student teachers in my pod on campus (which is great since I live on campus). So I could sleep in a little, take my time getting ready, and actually have a bit of time to think.
The sky is just starting to lighten now, and my mountain dwelling is completely shrouded in mist. I can't decided who I'm more likely to see emerging from the grey: Rochester or Smaug. To be honest, I think I would take either.
Yesterday morning I read something in my devotions just before heading to school and I have been mulling it over, off and on, for the last 24 hours. It's from a book I'm reading called Wednesdays were Pretty Normal by Michael Kelley. He was a pastor who decided to pursue full-time writing and whose two year old son ends up diagnosed with Leukemia. This book chronicles the story of what he and his wife went through during that time.
In the chapter I just finished he talked about the idea of pain. About having to press the button to give his little boy a bit more morphine when the pain became too much. About longing for something that could dull his own pain. This leads Kelley to a discussion of Job and Job's engagement with pain. About how Job asked the real, hard questions that result from pain. Questions like: "Why is this happening?" or "Is God real?" or "How can a loving God allow this to happen?"
Then Kelley starts talking about Job 38 when God speaks back. Here's what he says about that.
"...after these thirty-seven chapters of accusations, questions, and pain, the answer God gave was not the 'Why?' Job was looking for. It was the 'Who?' he wasn't.
"For the next four chapters, God talked about... Himself. He talked about His power and His creativity. He talked about His wisdom and His justice. And He reminded Job that he, as a human, possessed none of those qualities in comparison to the Almighty. Never once did God crack the door of eternity and say, 'See, this whole thing started when Satan came walking in here...' Never once did He take Job into the future to show him the good that would come from his struggle. Never once did He reveal the way He would redeem Job's pain. Never did God show Job one of the billions of Bibles that would be printed in the future, all containing his story. Not one single answer to Job's specific questions. Just descriptions of Himself.
"While that may seem unsatisfying on our end, to know that God doesn't offer answers or promise a glimpse 'on the inside,' we've got to ask outselves the question: Would knowing why really help? And at least on our part, the answer is no. It wouldn't. Why doesn't bring back the lost time. Why doesn't gather up the tears we've shed. Why doesn't make the ache go away. Why doesn't help with the anxiety of the future.
"But 'Who' does. God is the redeemer of moments small and large. God gathers up our tears and holds them in His hands. God is the healer of the soul. God is the caretaker of the future. Who helps tremendously in ways that why never could."
I don't really feel like I can say much more to add to that.
But I would love to hear what others think.
But this morning was different. Today I am meeting with the other student teachers in my pod on campus (which is great since I live on campus). So I could sleep in a little, take my time getting ready, and actually have a bit of time to think.
The sky is just starting to lighten now, and my mountain dwelling is completely shrouded in mist. I can't decided who I'm more likely to see emerging from the grey: Rochester or Smaug. To be honest, I think I would take either.
Yesterday morning I read something in my devotions just before heading to school and I have been mulling it over, off and on, for the last 24 hours. It's from a book I'm reading called Wednesdays were Pretty Normal by Michael Kelley. He was a pastor who decided to pursue full-time writing and whose two year old son ends up diagnosed with Leukemia. This book chronicles the story of what he and his wife went through during that time.
In the chapter I just finished he talked about the idea of pain. About having to press the button to give his little boy a bit more morphine when the pain became too much. About longing for something that could dull his own pain. This leads Kelley to a discussion of Job and Job's engagement with pain. About how Job asked the real, hard questions that result from pain. Questions like: "Why is this happening?" or "Is God real?" or "How can a loving God allow this to happen?"
Then Kelley starts talking about Job 38 when God speaks back. Here's what he says about that.
"...after these thirty-seven chapters of accusations, questions, and pain, the answer God gave was not the 'Why?' Job was looking for. It was the 'Who?' he wasn't.
"For the next four chapters, God talked about... Himself. He talked about His power and His creativity. He talked about His wisdom and His justice. And He reminded Job that he, as a human, possessed none of those qualities in comparison to the Almighty. Never once did God crack the door of eternity and say, 'See, this whole thing started when Satan came walking in here...' Never once did He take Job into the future to show him the good that would come from his struggle. Never once did He reveal the way He would redeem Job's pain. Never did God show Job one of the billions of Bibles that would be printed in the future, all containing his story. Not one single answer to Job's specific questions. Just descriptions of Himself.
"While that may seem unsatisfying on our end, to know that God doesn't offer answers or promise a glimpse 'on the inside,' we've got to ask outselves the question: Would knowing why really help? And at least on our part, the answer is no. It wouldn't. Why doesn't bring back the lost time. Why doesn't gather up the tears we've shed. Why doesn't make the ache go away. Why doesn't help with the anxiety of the future.
"But 'Who' does. God is the redeemer of moments small and large. God gathers up our tears and holds them in His hands. God is the healer of the soul. God is the caretaker of the future. Who helps tremendously in ways that why never could."
I don't really feel like I can say much more to add to that.
But I would love to hear what others think.
Anything smart I am trying to write here is just getting all jumbled :) So all I will say is I agree! Something to take to heart and chew on for a little while...We need the "who". I have always loved the last 4 chapters of Job but never seen it quite from this angle. Love it! I think I steal it for a facebook quote so I look smart. Thanks Jess!
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