The past couple of months my role here in the ministry has snowballed from tiny into quite large. Part of that involves tutoring many of the kids here on the property, as well as 17-year-old Oscar in La Kennedy. Oddly enough, teaching is the last thing I wanted to do with my life; I even switched my focus of study in school to avoid it. Luckily, God is infinitely better equipped than I am to teach his children, and he has continued to give me the necessary tools to teach as well, primarily patience abounding.
When I switched my studies from English/Spanish to Astrophysics, the majority of my family and friends thought I was crazy. I was told that it was going to be too challenging, that I wouldn't be able to find a career in it, and just what exactly did I think I was going to do with that degree?
God was so far ahead of me, and them, that he had it all covered.
I would be a tutor. And not just in any ol' subjects. A tutor in physics, math, and astronomy.
How could God have prepared me any better than that?
Although I am giving a bit of my time to all of the kids, my main tutoring focus right now is Luis. Luis is 17-years-old and in 10th grade, which means he has started math and physics. I was asked to begin tutoring him about a month and a half ago in order to help with his exam scores, and I was astounded at the amount of information he did not know (graphing a point, slope, distances...the list goes on). About a week ago, Luis came home from school with a big smile on his face telling me that he had passed his physics exam. From a 9% to passing with just one exam! Now, Luis comes to the house each day to catch up on material he had missed before and to do the homework for the night. Each day he is increasingly more excited to learn and is proud of his accomplishments. He frequently says to me, "Jen, did you see? I did it!" and just last night said that he wanted to cry because he was so happy that he was understanding.
But it hasn't always been easy. It was hard at first, because he did not grasp the basics and therefore could not progress any further to learn new information. Sometimes it was, and still is, frustrating.
As with everything, there is a connection here to God.
Without the knowing the basics of God, it is impossible to understand more difficult concepts and questions. If I did not know God's character, that He is just and patient and steadfast and compassionate, how could I understand that He will not abandon me even when I fail and that He has plans for my life? I couldn't.
Just as Luis couldn't understand projectile motion until he grasped the concepts of 'x' and 'y' components.
Similarly, it is never too late to learn the basics. God has given us all of the information about His character through His word, the Bible. Like a cheat-sheet of physics formulas, we can always go back to the Bible to refresh, review, and relearn the basics of His glory. Although I falter each day in certain ways, I can continue to go to the Lord to be filled and taught, and He will continue to teach me.
Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Psalm 25:4-5
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