Director’s Blog – Jan 2020

As I get older, I’ve noticed I need my reading glasses more and more.  I can still see distances really well and read road signs way up ahead of me, but the close- up is harder. (It’s actually kind of ironic that people need help seeing things up close!) 

But…this is also true of life!  Some of us are super good at planning for the future like having color- coded planners, children’s college already set up, will all written out, next year’s vacation already booked and our 5 & 10 year plan laid out.  But sometimes, always looking ahead can end up with missing out on the minute by minute treasures that life can bring, especially those that come from our children like their impulsive hugs and smiles and their hilarious take on life!       

I’m not one of those fanatical planning people, but I do think about the future a lot.  Being the director of a thriving preschool makes it essential that I am thinking ahead all the time.  I can plan out my day and actually plan out the entire school year on a calendar but the unexpected tends to mess it up a bit. I’ve learned to write things in pencil and not pen!  

Being a planner is not bad, it’s actually a good life skill!  But as adults, we want to see down the road really far by using a telescope, so we can have the control over our lives that we would like. Sometimes, however, we perceive the future with worry and anxiety because it can be distorted in the telescoping vision.   Children, however, see things right now and are rarely concerned about tomorrow.  They look for love and joy in the moment and want your presence immediately. Jesus even told us that we need to become like little children to enter the kingdom of God! 

But life can be frustrating with young children because as good parents, you are planning for the future in so many ways. Who hasn’t locked the front door to make it on time for something, only to have the littlest one have an accident and there you are, late again!   

Sometimes, we find ourselves taking our frustration out on our children or others who don’t know the plans we have so painstakingly laid out and who cannot read our minds! We lash out at them for being unaware and unconcerned by our “big picture,” plans. We forget to put down our telescopes and put our close readers back on to perceive the situation right in front of us. 

Looking for the treasure in the upset of plans is revelatory!  Sometimes, things happen for a reason and it is by responding with grace that we can actually see them! We can actually see something that God is trying to show us right now that will greatly affect the future we are so worried about!                                                               

Instead of bringing out the telescope yet one more frantic time to make sure you aren’t missing something important down the line, take a minute (or two) and put on the corrective eyeglasses to check in with your heavenly Father to make sure you aren’t missing something important right now.  Seek the kingdom of God first and make growing your relationship to Jesus the most important plan of the day.  You will never regret staying close to Him.  

In fact, being still before Him helps you realize that He is God.  He is YOUR God and He is with you and your family.  Let Him speak to you in the midst of your planning and ask Him for His guidance and thoughts about your life. You will be amazed at the clarity and reassurance it will bring to you. 

Matthew 6:31-34 Therefore, do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” 

Teresa Brophy, Director