Thank You Second Day

I hope I'm not being too personal this Thanksgiving time.)

I am thankful that God has a sense of humor. Way back in the dark ages--1946--he brought a quiet, shy, timid soul into this world; a soul that loved solitude, tended toward melancholy, was, early on, "addicted" to the beauty of God's creation. Oh, a lover of learning as well. A year in a cave with a pile of books would be heaven on earth indeed. Then, he called him to be a teacher. (He can never recall a moment in his life when he was not sure that he would be one of those things.) Think of it. Take a quiet, shy soul and put him in an environment where he would be surrounded by hundreds of teenagers--and every forty minutes or so, they all get up and move chaotically to another location as noisily as humanly possible. Perfect fit for a timid lover of solitude, don't you think? I'm sure his guardian angel spends the whole day chuckling. Brokenness was essential too--such a stubborn, selfish person to deal with. But there is no greater gift than brokenness.

The lessons learned--slowly? And multiple times. (See "slow learner" in the dictionary of disciple types.)

He has learned that God can do anything with someone who will accept His calling--no matter how much he grumbles about it at times. (Still struggling with that stubborn, selfish thing.)
Teenagers are easy to love. (By the way, they have a greater sense of brokenness than old folks seem to realize.)
Teenagers love you back--faults and all.
It's astounding what you can learn from teenagers.
By God;s grace you can live a quiet life in the middle of utter chaos.
If such a creature somehow makes a difference, it can only be the grace of God and thus, to God's glory alone. Who but God can use a square peg in a round hole?

Thankful that the God of infinite patience has a sense of humor. (I wonder how often that guardian angel goes from chuckle to guffaw?)