Productive Struggle

I went to a professional development session recently about productive struggles within a classroom. How allowing my students to falter a bit and figure out how to gain their “footing” back is more beneficial than handing off the answers. 
This particular session was given to all of us elective teachers. So this former math teacher is trying to tell a bunch of fine art teachers and coaches about how to use the discipline of struggling as a way to strengthen and deepen a student’s knowledge. Most of us chuckled and made comments to our comrades under our breath because we live in that model every single day. Watching our students waver, and pick themselves back up. Only stepping in when absolutely necessary. 

Tonight I was meal prepping for the week and it was all going wrong. I was trying to boil lasagne noodles that aren’t supposed to be boiled so the water was attacking my stove, I had a fight with the oil in the pan I was cooking my sauce in that sprayed stuff everywhere… nothing was going well.
My internal monologue was running WILD. “Tired Teacher’s Cooking Adventures” would make a fantastic caption if I were to take a picture right now… Dang it I wonder if I can rescue this meal… is this how my students feel sometimes when they make an absolute mess?
Then it struck me. 
Normally this type of event would push me to tears. I am exhausted, hungry, and just want to kick up and watch Netflix. However, I wasn’t upset. In fact I was joking around thinking about how I better get started on cleaning as soon as everything is in the oven. 
This past summer has been a spiritual revival in some ways for me. Attending more young adult events, joining leadership, a bookclub, leading worship, volunteering places, starting daily intentional devotions and even my consecration to Mary. Typically I can barely stay consistent for more than a week, then I falter and find my way back in a few months or so. 
I can only attest my change in reaction to my developing relationship to God… or should I say productive struggle that is developing that relationship. 

I wonder if God feels as conflicted watching me and others during their faith journeys… waiting for us to reach success on our own… as I do watching my students? How many people have stopped in the struggle without fighting for that success? We may have free will, but how painful and uncomfortable is it for Him to watch us stumble and fail and fail again and knowing it’s best not to intervene? 

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