The Work of His Hands

Just a few days ago, I was discussing a certain movie with my son. At twelve, he is almost ready to see lots of movies he hasn’t watched before due to their content. As a mother, I am hesitant, however, to let him see some PG-13 movies due to content I feel like could harm him. In this conversation, he let me know that soon he could see one movie that is about a favorite band of his-he loves classic rock. I told him that , while I understood WHY he wants to see it, some of the content might be “disturbing” to him. His response? “Mom. Middle school is disturbing.” He got me there. We are a public school family. I teach in public school, and my kids go to public school. And yes, there are things kids say and do in public school that are at times, disturbing, to me or my kids, but, at the same time, I am amazed every day at the beauty of God’s creation present there.

Recently, I had to answer a series of questions as a team-building activity at a work conference. One of the questions was, “What do you value?” My immediate response was, “I value people”. I got a few odd looks from my colleagues when I answered, but my answer made perfect sense to me. After over 20 years in education, I have met so many remarkable people. Sure, I have seen a lot of difficult, even heartbreaking situations; after all, we live in a broken world filled with sin and pain. But I cannot begin to describe the beauty I have witnessed. Whether it be the unprecedented ability to overcome some of life’s worst obstacles, the willingness to give the shirt off of their own back when they don’t have another one to wear, the refusal to judge another-even for the most heinous acts, or the actions of a believer from another race or creed that show the love of Christ in a dark world, I will forever be changed by the beauty I see in God’s creation demonstrated in the schools I work in. So, yes, I know that to be “in and not of” the world means witnessing some “disturbing” things, but I pray that my children will see with God’s eyes the beauty around them, and truly “value” others the ways Jesus does.