2 Versus 10

On our first day of meetings this school year, our director read us a story from Numbers 13 and 14. For those of you not intimately familiar with the exact timeline of the 4th book of Moses (that would include me) it's the story of how the Israelites, perched on the edge of the promised land of Canaan, wisely sent 12 spies through the land to scope it out. When the spies returned, they told of a land full of abundant produce...but also containing men who appeared like giants to them. Ten of the spies claimed that they felt like grasshoppers in their presence. Only Joshua and Caleb proclaimed that it was a good land, which, despite obstacles, they could conquer with God's help. (The sad part of the story is that the Israelites listened to the cowardly report of the 10, rather than Joshua and Caleb...and the people were forced to wander for 40 years as a result.)

So our director's challenge to us was to be like the 2 spies, not like the 10. As those two said, it was a good land, and with the Lord's help, they could achieve victory. In the same way, our school is an awesome opportunity, provided by God, to make a difference in kids' lives, but it's not without its own obstacles. We have kids' language barriers to overcome; attitude problems to overcome; home issues including who knows what; and a host of other things. But the spies weren't sinful in bringing back a truthful report; it was their choice to focus on the difficulties that brought them down. That story is a good challenge for me, to focus on God to solve the problems I have here, and to depend on Him to accomplish what he wants me to do. I thought it was a good note to start the year on.

I realize that I'm saying this next bit quite early, but...so far it looks like it will be an amazing year. My students are great; if you want to check out some class pictures and see how incredibly diverse they are, click here.