Today I feel that I got my first taste of what being a parent will look like.
When my kids are around the age of eight or nine, I'm sure that I will have to discipline them somehow. If I don't, then call the people at Guiness because I'm sure they have a record book I could get in to.
There's a little girl in one of my classes. For the sake of anonymity, we will get her "Susie." Susie loves to talk and loves to play, and apparently loves to do so during my daily English lessons.
Now keep in mind that they are split into two groups, so I guess I get her every other day.
Regardless, today was like every other, and no discipline that I had put into place before was really working. (First year teacher people... come on) So with about fifteen minutes left to go in my lesson, I got their attention and explained that the next person I had to tell to be quiet or sit down, they were going to get a message written in their "message book." (I'm still not sure who reads these messages, but it's a big deal)
And so it worked... for about three minutes. That is when Susie decided to start joking around with her neighbor, and stood up laughing to do so (They're only three feet tall). So I walked over and said "Susie... give me your message book."
The look of horror quite suddenly spread across her face.
She sat down pouting, rummaged through her things, and produced her message book. I took it and walked back up to the desk where my pen was. The whole class was silent. I wrote "Susie will not stop talking in class" and then walked back to her desk. Her head was down, and her neighbor looked up and said "Susie is cry." I shrugged as if to say "I wish I didn't have to do this" and put the message book back on Susie's desk.
I did feel sad about the whole situation, but the entire class is a little out of control. I had to do another quick writing with another little girl, but she didn't seem too torn up about the whole thing.
But how often do we do this with our spiritual Father? We are warned time and time again of the awful consequences we are going to face if we don't stop acting up, and when those consequences finally happen, we sit down pouting and bury our heads in our folded arms on the desk. I look at myself too when I say this and we have to wonder, when will man just stop sinning!?
Oh yeah, when Jesus comes back.
That doesn't mean we can eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die. That means we need to do our very best. God gives us these warnings for our own good. He wants EVERYONE to be living in harmony and He tries to point us in the right direction, but time and time again we (even subconsciously) trade His good advice for our own stubborn desires.
To God be all Glory.
