Twenty years ago I was an elementary school teacher. I taught second grade in Austin, Texas, and worked with a lot of children who came from troubled homes. I wanted my classroom to be a place that felt cozy and safe because many of my kiddos didn’t know what “safe” felt like. Some had parents in jail. Others lived in homes where family members were dealing drugs.
So one of the small things I did to try to create this environment was putting this cute lamp on my desk, and every morning I turned it on as the children entered my room. It was a way to create an inviting and warm place for them to know they were loved.
My teaching days are far in the past, but now that we are all “safer at home” because of the COVID-19 outbreak, I’m putting my teacher hat back on for my own girls. Incredibly, I still had the lamp, and now it sits in our sunroom where we “do school”. Every morning I turn it on as my girls get settled and ready to learn and I’m reminded of how our past prepares us for our future.
Never discount what you have been through. Whether it was good, bad, or simply a training ground. God is always preparing you for something. I challenge you to take the experiences that you have lived through and really think about the lessons they have taught you.
Maybe they were simply times that felt like you were in a holding pattern. Those are valuable moments too. God’s timing is perfect and the seasons that feel like an uncomfortable pause could quite simply be opportunities for God to align what it is He has for you next.
They always say “hindsight is 2020”and I believe that is so true. Be proud of, or at the very least accepting of, your past and be open to how it has readied you for your future.
