Day 29 of Lent 2020
I have a ton of self-help books. Many of them are not finished only taking in the information that I needed at the moment. A quick fix. Instead of solving it myself with trial and error, I thought someone else had the answers I needed.
As a teacher, it would be easy for me to help a student solve their computer problems for them. What would they learn? Would they be able to solve the same problem with their computer the next time? Probably not. They would come back to me for help with the exact same problem. It does neither of us any good if I solve it for him/her.
It’s not easy to go through struggles and pain. I see that a lot with helicopter parents today. They do not want their children to struggle or figure things out on their own. Everything is handed to them and they don’t need to work for anything. When 40% of my students have better phones and earbuds than I do, something is really wrong.
A couple of years ago I had a student come up to me with her phone and I noticed the screen was all cracked because she just dropped it. I said, “Oh no! I bet it’s going to be hard to use your phone like that.” “It’s nothing. My mom is getting me a new one.” What?!? I couldn’t believe what I had heard.
I am worried about this generation growing up that wants a quick fix for everything. It is definitely not generations of the past that worked hard with way less and life was great. Those that lied on their applications so they could fight in a war for their country. Those that still kept their families together during the Great Depression no matter how little they had. I remember my mother telling me that my grandpa never used novocaine when going to the dentist. He would “offer it up” and it never phased him one bit.
When we are in the midst of our struggles and pain, we need to try to see what the lesson is in all of it. Look back to when the struggle started and what actions set it all into motion. Once we see how it all started we are better able to make the changes necessary to change the trajectory of our life.
I firmly believe everything happens for a reason. Many times those things have a lesson attached to them. May we have the strength to get through those lessons with strength, acceptance, and the knowledge to change our lives for the better.
