Thursday, June 21, 2007

Pursuit

One of my students came to class a bit discouraged. He was not doing well in class. He had been trying hard, and things just weren't coming together for him. So there he sat. I knew that today would not be a day of accomplishing a lot. He was tired and discouraged, and just needed to talk. He had a lot on his mind anyway. His class is studying the Purpose Driven Life, and he had begun to ponder some things about his own life. "You know," he said, "my mom is a buddhist. She doesn't like anything about Christ. But since I've been in preschool, she has put me in schools that taught about Jesus. I don't know why she did that." We sat for a few seconds, and I said, "Well, it sounds as if Christ is pursuing you!" More moments passed as he tried to wrap his head around that thought. After a minute or so, his question came to mind. "Why would God choose me, when my whole family is not Christian, and they value education so much. And here I am trying hard and only making C's and D's?" We both sat there for a second. I was having a hard time keeping my composure. He was so confused and he was just laying his heart right out on the table. I smiled at him and said, "Because. It is God's favorite thing! To take those that man considers weak, and show Himself through them, so that all can know what God can do!" I could actually see his paradigm shifting. He sat there thinking, his mind racing. "So, I could be the one to show Christ to my whole family?" I looked at him as seriously as I could. "With Christ in your life, and you with a heart that's willing, I think your family is just the tip of the iceburg."
Our discussion continued until the bell rang, with him thinking out loud about all that could be done. His family, Taiwan, other nations.

I really didn't think anything would be accomplished this day. Shame on me.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please keep us updated on this young man. What an opportunity for God to open doors to his family and acquaintances.

Anonymous said...

God is SO faithful!!!

Excellent post, Stacy!

Craver Vii said...

It's exciting to see God work in a person's life.

Anonymous said...

Just think what God may have in store for this one!

Anna said...

I think mountains move when we least expect them too and Go dis always faithful to meet us in our weakness....

That is such an awesome story...please keep us updated!

Pat said...

What an encouraging post! I will be interested in further news of this young man.

Lifelong Learner said...

Hello all! Thanks for all of the encouragement.

Craver, God is working almost daily in this child's life. It's so fun to watch. He has made a decision for Christ and has a real burden for his family. Please keep him in your prayers.

Mike, I am so encouraged to see how his life turns out. He definitely has a lot of people pulling for him as well.

Anna, Don't you love to watch God work through our weaknesses? In those cases we can ONLY give Him the glory. :)

Pat, thanks for visiting again. I am always happy to see your face in my comment section. :) I will definitely keep everyone up on how things are going for him. This next year should be a crucial year for him, education wise. I'll keep you all posted.

lorenzothellama said...

Thanks Stacy for visiting my site.

Is it any wonder this child is interested in Christ? If his mother is a Buddhist, then he will have been taught very similar teachings certainly on morality.

Still trying to find out how to entertain angels. As you saw, I certainly needed them at times. Maybe they were there all the time but I haven't got the insight to see them.

christianne said...

Stacy, thanks for visiting my blog and saying hi. You are welcome any time!

This story gave me goosebumps. It was so powerful. I love the image of the two of you sitting together. I feel like I can just see the looks of alternating consternation and thoughtfulness on his face. I love the paradigm shifts that happened in those spans of seconds. And I REALLY love the way you chose to just sit with him, letting silence unfold between you sometimes, and then seeing your way to a response through the help of the Holy Spirit inside you.

Thanks for sharing.