I've Never Missed Taking a Class to Lunch Yet

“Mrs. Lindsay, the phone is ringing.” 

“I know. I’m trying to answer it as fast as I can. Class, we’ll finish the calendar in a moment. Suzy Q., would you please see who is at the door? Yes, Timmy, you can go to the bathroom. Betty, I know there’s an ant. I’ll get to it as soon as I answer the phone.”

“Ok, class, I think we can now do the calendar without being interrupted. Billy, how do you sit in school? Yes, Tami, I see that there is no more kleenex. I’ll get a new box in a moment. No, Billy, it is not time for lunch. It’s only 8:20. Don’t worry. I’ve never missed taking a class to lunch yet. Oh my gosh, we haven’t said the Pledge of Allegiance, and our aide is coming to do groups in 20 seconds.”

Whew, I’m glad that school day is behind me. Did that parent really believe her child was the innocent one when he instigated everything? Why did she have to go to the principal when we talked about it before school this morning? I’ll check my texts and the headlines before I start the long commute home. Wow, I can’t believe I forgot about so many of my friends’ needs during the day: a hip replacement for one, a surgery following a fall for a parent of another, a friend’s daughter's divorce hearing is tomorrow. I wonder how my sweet friend is doing since her mother died on Monday. God, can you please stop this war from escalating? Why do there seem to be so many fires, floods, and earthquakes? Has it always been like this, and I wasn’t aware? Or, are the trials of Earth getting closer together as we get closer to the end times? Or, are we in the end times? 

“Oh, thank you God for this weekend and the extra hour of sleep this morning. I am so appreciative for that additional time to read the Bible and my other two books before my bladder forced me out of bed. Thank you for this walk on such a  gorgeous day. Look at those two quail families with about 10 babies in each group. They are adorable and move so quickly! Maybe I should look up and see what’s ahead in the street. How long has that buck been watching me? I didn’t see him so close to the quail. He sure is magnificent, but I wish he would stop staring at me when he’s already watched me walk about 50 feet. Oh, hello you three squirrels. Look at you walk on the fence and make that huge jump into the trees. I wish the horses would come over so I could pet them. The goats normally come over, but the female is busy going on her hind legs to come down and ram into her brother’s head. Oh my gosh, I have the attention span of a Kindergartner and forgot I was talking to you, God. Please help me to focus. How do you keep track of all of those animals I just saw and know every fur or feather on them? Yet, you simultaneously: 1. welcome your children into Heaven, 2. comfort fire victims and our troops sitting in bunkers during a missile attack, and 3.strengthen first responders. We haven’t even talked about all of the needs of each child in every classroom and their families. How do you do it? I’m exhausted just from worrying about it all.”

“When did I ask you to worry about it all, Tiffany?”

“Uh, you didn’t, Father.”

“So, why are you doing it?”

“I don’t know…I guess I figure that since I don’t see you intervening the way I want you to, that you aren’t going to get to it. I’m sorry.”

“I can handle it. I am working behind the scenes. Some of the results may not be seen for years. Try to focus only on what I put directly in front of you just like what you tell your students. Haven’t I always been there for you? Why would I stop now? I’m the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I don’t change regardless of the Earth’s chaos.” 

Did Jesus’ disciples focus on the world’s problems or just what was put in front of them? Shortly after Pentecost, Peter and John went to the temple. At the gate called Beautiful, a lame man was begging. Peter told him they had no money to give. Then, he said, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk. And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength” (Acts 3:6-7) He was just hoping to get a little money to get through the day, but God had something much greater planned. The two disciples were going to the temple to pray. Maybe they had seen this beggar before, but I doubt they anticipated this situation. Since Holy Spirit was now dwelling in them, His power flowed through Peter to perform a miracle in a desperate person. Did he feel that empowerment, and thus had the confidence to act on his compassion? Or, was Peter so Christ minded, that he actively listened for and obeyed Holy Spirit’s directions to heal that man? Do we do that? For me the answer is usually no. I’m often distracted by my short attention span. Sometimes, I hear Holy Spirit’s interruption of, “Helloooo, Tiffany, I want you to look over here and pay attention to this person.” My selfish or fearful response tends to be delayed and something like, “Are you sure? Right now? Maybe someone else would like to do this.”

Peter followed Holy Spirit’s prompting and we all get to celebrate his faithfulness. For the crippled man, “leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God…and they were filled with wonder and amazement” (Acts 3:8-10).

I wish I was there to see that man’s excited face since I can relate when I lost the use of my left foot and ankle for about 2 years. I often think about how glorious it’s going to be to run again in Heaven. This was very real to me three weeks ago when I almost got attacked by a turkey who kept coming as close as a foot away despite my screams and throwing dirt and sticks at him. Thankfully, I brought my phone on my walk so I could call and have my husband pick me up. I wanted so desperately to run and control my safety. A kind neighbor came out with his dog, and the turkey moved away. It took me about 10 minutes to calm down and my chest to stop hurting. My Google search revealed that I experienced acute trauma. My left arm stopped being sore about 24 hours later. The next night I had a dream that I was running up a beautiful grassy hill. It was amazing, and I was sad when I woke up to reality.

Back to the disciples. A crowd gathered because of this man’s new reality and freedom. We are told, “While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade” (Acts 3:11). As a result of his obedience to Holy Spirit, the miracle presented an opportunity for Peter to preach about Jesus. Part of His speech included, “ Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19).

The priests, captain of the temple guard “and the Sadducees…were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people, proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead” (Acts 4:1-2).  They put Peter and John “in jail until the next day.  But many who heard the message believed; so the number of men who believed grew to about five thousand” (Acts 4:3-4). I don’t know about you, but one of the top items on my bucket list is to avoid going to jail. Not only did Peter and John endure this with grace and peace, but Peter took another opportunity to preach to the religious leaders when they questioned him the next morning. Acts 4:13-14 tells us that when the religious leaders “saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished… But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.”  The council threatened the disciples and told them to stop teaching in the name of Jesus.

Peter and John were not intimidated. Instead, they returned to their loved ones and prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.  Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” (Acts 4:29-30). As a result of their faith and desire to be Christ’s servants, ”the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31).

Wow! That’s powerful! I’m thankful for the disciples’ boldness and focus on sharing Jesus’ message and following His example. They shared their resources, “And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul” (Acts 4:32).

Does this inspire you to be more focused on Jesus than your possessions and image in the world? Do you want an intimate relationship with Holy Spirit to be able to discern His directions and leading? Wouldn’t life be so beautiful if we put our petty differences aside and rallied together?

God’s peace is available right now. I picture Him relaxing on His throne with His feet on the footstool. After I get settled into Heaven, I want to sit on His lap and watch Him effortlessly love everyone while He monitors all of Earth’s chaos and grieves with victims and the heartbroken. 

I have recommended John Burke’s book, Imagine Heaven. The near-death experiences made me have a better vision of why I am so excited about Heaven. Now, I’m more than halfway through the second book, Imagine the God of Heaven, which was lovingly given to me by my friend, Virg. On page 161, Burke writes, “God as Spirit is both imminent (very near) and transcendent (far exceeding humanity and nature) at the same time.” In Jeremiah 23:23-24, our Creator says, “Am I only a God nearby,” declares the Lord, “and not a God far away? Who can hide in secret places so that I cannot see them?” declares the Lord. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the Lord.” You and I can only be in one place physically at a time. God, on the other hand, is physically omnipresent. Even though we can’t see Him with our human eyes, we can feel the results of His peaceful and loving presence. We can see His creation of magnificent rainbows, landscapes, creatures, and the amazing and complex human body.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Imagine sitting on Jesus’ lap while you pretend to take concerns out of your heart and place them into His cupped hands one by one. For me, the worries include my unsaved neighbor who is on His deathbed, the latest news’ scare, gas prices, our sons, my students and their families’ needs, etc, etc. Every time I do this, the cares of this world melt away, and I feel lighter emotionally. You are not a pack mule. Let Jesus carry your burdens so you can focus on only what He places in front of you. He is like the teacher who never forgets to take her class to lunch. He’s got all of the details perfectly organized and timed out perfectly. Trust Him and relax.