The path beyond...

God doesn't need human notions of the ideal "closure" to heal our wounds...

The ultimate "closure" happened at the cross with the ultimate wound, and He'll direct our paths from there if our trust is in Him.

Proverbs 3:5-6:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding, In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

And note the lesser known verses 7-8:

"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones."

Just...trust me.

So I made a mark on 2-3 students' tests today, to indicate their test-time chatter. A couple of them seemed alarmed at my doing so; they seemed to feel justified in their behavior, and I can understand how they might feel that way. Even though I 'disciplined' them in this way, in my heart I know they don't have to worry. Trust me. I know that if they end up at least close to the minimum requirements for achievement and proficiency, there's a good chance they'll pass. I'll have to figure out for sure if it's okay at this school to 'flub' a bit if some students don't technically make the cut, but I assume it would probably be okay. At another school, I think I've used my 'sense' on students who numerically didn't get to the level I thought they should be at. So in the end...what are grades? They're meant to measure the students' proficiency and progress. Hopefully they motivate the students to study and try their best. Ultimately, come grade time, though, I'll have a general sense of who should or should not pass. Yes, I'll do the numbers and plug them into excel, blah blah blah. And there might be a few borderliners and people I'm unsure of whether or not they should pass. It'll be with those students that I may need to balance my 'sense' with their numerical achievement and proficiency and final test performance.

Life application.

In times of trial (which might include for some questioning the fairness of or reasons for particular life crises), we can still trust. We can trust Him. He knows what he's doing. He works all for the good. He disciplines "for our good" (Hebrews 12:10). "...the testing of [our] faith develops perseverance" (James 1:3). Trials "have come so that [our] faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed" (1 Peter 5:7). In the midst of trial, we can still trust.

Our performance and achievement is not the admission ticket to heaven. Yes, a genuine faith will bear fruit. A "faith without deeds is dead" (James 2:26). Thankfully God's spirit can work in us and through us. But we don't have to worry that our sin will prevent us from the glory of heaven. Jesus paid our admission ticket in full, if we accept His gift through faith in Him.

Trusting through the 'bites'...

Because I know my cat and her temperament, her 'bites' (if you can call them that) don't stir in me a feeling of resounding alarm. Someone unfamiliar with cats or my cat in particular might freak out if my cat embraced their hand or arm with her mouth ;). But I know who she is - I know her friendliness, her quirks, her love of being close to me in the mornings [a subtle hint for me to get up and feed her?], her love of being around people. If an unfamiliar cat appeared to be on the verge of taking a chunk out of me, more than likely I would be more self-protective. In an attempt to draw from this an analogy to real life -- when life 'bites', or when God sends trials our way, we can trust Him. We know who He is. When challenges come, we don't have to be defeated by fright.

To have the faith of Abraham

Something I wrote last month (on 6/21) ~

"So, this time my thought is about something I read last night in Romans 4, when Abraham "did not weaken in faith" when he thought about his old body or "the barrennness of Sarah's womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promiseof God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was 'counted to him as righteousness.'"

His circumstances could have easily made him waver in his trust. But, despite them, he GREW, gave GLORY to God, and TRUSTED. Ideally, we too, in spite of unstable-appearing circumstances, will hopefully GROW, give GLORY, and TRUST."