Lent

March 27, 2023

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Lord God has given me
   the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
   the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
   wakens my ear
   to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious,
   I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
   and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
   from insult and spitting. –Isaiah 50:4-6

Education is a big deal in Oklahoma right now as the legislature tries to tackle ways to improve our public education system so that our children are prepared for bright futures realizing their full potential. They are our future.

The above scripture starts off with the recognition that teaching requires special skills. I especially l that the part about listening as those who are taught. If we pay attention, children will tell us how they learn through their actions and responses. Standardized tests are oxymorons. People are not standardized. Animals are not either. I have had the joy of raising two dogs. Hefner, understood words, If I said do you need to go outside, he would run to the back door. He had a very broad vocabulary. A few months after his death, I got another dog, Micah. He frustrated me at first because he did not respond to spoken instructions as Hef did. One day I pointed to the door, and he immediately ran to it, eager to go outside. I started experimenting with hand signals and soon learned that he understood them. I listened to those who were taught.

Prayer: Lord, guide us in finding the best ways to communicate with one another as we grow together in spirit and in truth. Amen.

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.