Eduard, His Glasses, and God's Perspective

I See, I See, a children’s book I never knew existed until I walked into my 7-month-old’s (at the time) bedroom to read a book to him and there on the nightstand sat this book. I have never heard of this book like Go Dog Go, Frog & Toad, Tikki Tikki Tembo, and Love You Forever. In the top right corner of the book’s cover was a sticker from Bargain Books.

 

“$5.00” it read.

 

The book is about a boy who struggles to accept the fact that he has to get glasses because of his poor vision. When he walks into the store, the saleswoman notices his reluctant attitude towards the specs he needs and whispers in his ear to tell him something that transforms his perspective. From then on, he witnesses that what she said about the glasses was true! He embraces his additional accessory in large part because of what this saleswoman said to him. Every page after the eventful afternoon in the glasses store is another anecdote that there is something beautiful about wearing glasses.

 

This is what the saleswoman says before he puts the glasses on:

“With glasses you will see things that other people don’t. Special things. Just wait and see.”

As the boy’s hesitation turns into trust that these glasses can help people see what others don’t, his optimism also grows little by little. His faith in believing what the woman said paid dividends, and he began to look for opportunities to see the things other don’t.

 

I often feel that way with God. Each day, especially in the classroom, I deal with numerous challenges, setbacks, interruptions, expectations unmet, disgruntled parents, misbehaving students - the list goes on. When I manage to put on the Jesus glasses at any point in the day, it helps me see things I wouldn’t see if I never put them on in the first place.

 

I think God enjoys walking with us in that daily journey. When I submit to wearing the glasses God gives me in the form of faith and trust in him when I see the world his way, it becomes an adventure to see how God will show up through me and reveal his thoughts about a situation like how the previously unseen things revealed themselves to the main character in I See, I See.

 

For example, I have a 5^th grade student, and we will call him Bradley. One particular Thursday, a regular Thursday in the middle of November, Bradley was upset that another student was picking on him about his handwriting. He became so irritated, he belligerently expressed the injustice he felt for being called out the way he was. Important note: Bradley has a history of overreacting to situations by fixating on them and reeling over the fact that he is being unfairly treated – when he is unfairly treated, it makes sense to be frustrated, but from an emotional maturity standpoint, it is a struggle for Bradley to cooperate as a 10-year-old when he is emotionally unsettled. He simply becomes unglued, like a 4-year-old in a 5^th grader’s body. To make matters worse, him and his assigned group were completing a project that was overdo because things came up when we were supposed to finish, so any disruptions in the flow of the group project was reason to become frustrated as a teacher.

 

In other words, the kindergarten level behavior exhibited by 5^th graders was not something I was prepared to confront nor was it anywhere close to what I wanted to deal with at the end of a long day.

 

Without glasses, I would have reacted emotionally and would have drawn incorrect conclusions long before approaching the bickering students to do some fact-checking. In fact, I probably would have done know fact-checking. Bradley would have been wrongly accused because he was the one drawing the most attention to himself and looking at fault by becoming ubhinged about the issue.

 

With glasses on, God helped me take the high road of patience and love. I responded with wisdom – some of it tough love – empathy, and patience. I needed God’s help. There is no way it would have ended well without his guidance on how to discern the situation before bulldozing my way through it.

 

I am grateful because the student in the wrong – or at least what created the snowball of arguments – was not who and what I thought it was. Seeing through the perspective of how God sees things gave me what I needed in time of need: patience, wisdom, and gentleness- the fruits of the Spirit - among others.

 

The point is, it is easy to overreact in the field of education. Expectations are never met by 100% of the students, so the most important tool in the classroom, I would argue, is the glasses God gives me each day. The glasses, when I choose to wear them, gives me the fruits of the Spirit I need to be the image of Jesus the students so desperately need.

 

And “desperately” is a understatement.

 

I wouldn’t make it in the field as long as I have if I ignored those glasses. As Brandon Heath once sang, “Give me Your eyes for just one second
Give me Your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missin'
Give me Your love for humanity
Give me Your arms for the broken-hearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me Your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me Your eyes so I can see”

 

Without the glasses, it is impossible to see what others don’t. It's impossible to see what God wants us to see in others. With them, I can see people the way God does, and isn’t that what we hope to do daily?

 

Give those glasses a try at your workplace, home, or wherever life takes you. They are not just designed for my classroom. It’s free, and God will take you incredible places with them if you make a daily decision to use them. He desires to partner with you, speak through you, and use you to do things you couldn’t do on your own. Look no further than what he did through Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, Esther, Joseph, the disciples, Paul, and so many more.   

 

And at the end of the day, I guess $5.00 is quite the bargain in the picture book world.

Mr. Tweed-Suit Man: At Your Service

Over 10 years ago, 2013, it was my first year at EDUPRIZE Charter School in Gilbert, Arizona. It was the beginning of the school year, which meant most of Arizona was God's oven and we were his delicious cookies, hoping to not to melt. But it wasn't the heat that had me worried. On this particular Friday afternoon, we had a half day with the students, and the second half of the day was meetings with the staff. This staff meeting included a special announcement:

"One of the great honors of being one of few A+ rated charter schools in Arizona," our principal began,

"Is that we are a model school for other principals and administrators to look to for ways to improve their own school and also get that A+ rating that we already have." 

She paused.

I gulped.

She continued, "Next week, we're having principals from other schools tour our school, and some of them will pop into your classroom for a visit. Since you're the reason our school gets that A+ rating, we want you to show them how it's done." She smiled that warm smile principals are known to have. I did not share that same smile at the time.

Are you kidding? This is the beginning of my second year. I'm a rookie! No way they're going to see me as the reason we're getting A+ marks. In fact, the reason we have an A+ is because the evaluators haven't been in my room yet! 

I'm not sure if I thought those very words at the time, but I remember being nervous and not having the kind of confidence needed to blow anyone's socks off. But, they were coming, and I had no choice but to pray that they'd either not come in my room or God would come down and turn water to wine - or some kind of miracle that would allow me the opportunity to escape the work day embarrassment-free.

After a sleepless weekend came and went, I was as ready as I could be. Monday morning also came and went, and I was able to breeze through the lessons without worry because there were no visitors popping in; no adults accept me. It was heavenly. I was thankful because it looked like I would escape the day unharmed by these upper-level visitors. I'm pretty sure their workday would be just as productive if they just searched "Incredible teachers" on YouTube and watch those videos, then tell their staff to be like them. Why do they have to come to my classroom to see what cool teachers do in the classroom? I'm not suggesting principals and superintendents are awful people (after all, I got hired by one), but they have expectations and probably drive Mercedes-Benzes and BMWs. In addition, most of them have gone through multiple certifications, all of the teaching positions, and various forms of experience in the school system before being hired into the position they currently held. For them to be inspired by me, I need to show them something amazing. Isn't that how it typically works? While their expectation was to see a great teacher in action, my expectation was that these visitors were the Grim Reaper, and this experience would be the death of me. 

Then the door opened to my classroom. Here we go.

I just started my reading lesson, and in walks a bald man with glasses and brown tweed suit with matching pants. He had a yellow visitor sticker on his right pocket, and he pulled up a chair in the back right corner of the room.

He just watched. The same thing a visiting principal would do. He was clearly that man.

It was my time to shine. Time to put my big-boy pants on and make my principal, my parents, my future kids and their kids, proud. I knew I couldn't toss him out of my classroom, so I did what I knew was best.

I walked over to this tweed-suit-man and introduced myself. 

"Hello, welcome to our school. My name is Mr. Fitz." Get ready to have your mind blown, I guess, I thought.

"Nice to meet you," he replied, standing up. He held out his hand to shake mine. Nice and strong. He had the handshake of a principal and even sounded like a principal. Obviously he ran a school 20-30 minutes from mine, and he probably ran it like a champ.

"Can I help you with anything?"

"No, I just wanted to stop in and see how it's going."

"Absolutely, and we're glad you're here!" I replied outwardly. Inwardly, Why me? God help me.

Boy, did He. I decided to go rogue from my written plans and put all of my best training to practice. Spring Arbor University, my Alma Mater, would be proud. Kids 20+ years into the future would be proud. I ran reading centers, made my expectations for the kids clear, infused technology and art into the lesson, and cracked jokes to keep the kids entertained. I did what administrators know as differentiated, monitored students' progress, and managed the behavior and discipline like a professional parent. It was incredible and still ranks in my top-10 best lessons taught to this day.

After I took a moment to catch my breath from the spectacular performance, I noticed the principal standing up to get my attention. 

"Wow, that was amazing. It's good to see my daughter's teacher in action -- oh, I'm sorry --" the tweed-suited man interrupted himself. "I didn't introduce myself...

I'm Ron. Ron Moller. Allison's dad."

Allison's dad? As in, parent of one of my students? I thought. 

I wanted to slap him. Of course he couldn't introduce himself as Allison's dad at the beginning. Of course he had to wait until the end of my spectacular lesson to finally tell me who he really is. My reading lesson was so good, it would be the top video trending that administrators would find on YouTube if they typed "Incredible Teachers" in the search bar and hit enter. 

But who was it for? Who was I trying to impress?

Allison's dad.

Forget he students, I did all of this performing and doing what great teachers did for Allison's dad.

All this man wanted to do was watch me teach his daughter how to infer using quotes from a passage. He wasn't even visiting to help me grade assignments, hang art on the wall, teach a mini-lesson on story structure, or show my students how to juggle. He was there, on the same day principals and administrators were also visiting classrooms mind you, to be convinced his daughter was in good hands being educated by me. 

I don't blame him. He loves his daughter, wants what's best for her, and desires for her to get the best education a 5th grade teacher could offer her. And it's highly unlikely for him to know other schools were coming by to check us out too.

I blame myself. 

After all, I was not hired to inspire parents of fifth grade students. I was not entrusted 25+ students so that their parents could be in awe of my detailed weekly newsletter, amazed by my communication via e-mail and telephone, and be taken aback by my ability to thoroughly conduct parent-teacher conferences with the confidence of a 20-year veteran educator. So, why was I trying so hard to impress Mr. Tweed Suit Man? I knew in my heart I was teaching because I wanted to make the student's lives better, not a late-30s man in a suit watching me teach for the first time. It was meant to be, "Hello Students, Mr. Fitz, at your service," not "Hello Mr. Tweed-Suit Man, Mr. Fitz, at your service." A subtle distinction, but important.

Unfortunately, Mr. Tweed Suit Man is a representation of how easy it is to lose sight of the real mission. Allison's dad symbolizes every time I get swept up in how I am perceived by others in order to gain their approval. Forget how God sees me and the important role he has me playing when I am trying so hard to impress the Tweed Suit men of my life.

Sometimes he is disguised as my wife. Sometimes my boss, or the parents of students I teach. Even myself, perhaps. I often try so hard to prove my worth - to prove I am enough, that I deserve to be a teacher of children. Worse, I continually reflect on my work and tell myself it wasn't good enough even if I have plenty to smile about. 

No matter who dons that suit and sits in the classroom of my mind and heart, I spend so much of my energy devoted to pleasing that person or people, that I forget who I should actually be doing the best work for. Under the topic of teaching, the obvious answer is that my best work should be done for the students. After all, they learn best when I put my best foot forward. 

However, even the kids should not be primary reason why I do the work to the best of my ability: "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31). It may sound cliché, but when we allow our daily mission statement to be to reflect the glory of God in everything we say and do, it changes our inward mindset and outward posture. Our view of the day is seen through the same lens of God. Our problems, obstacles, and issues seem miniscule in the grand scheme of God's design. Even our victories are only a small fraction of the bigger picture God has in mind.

What does this mantra of doing everything for the glory of God look like on a day-to-day basis? Answer: The theme song of my childhood, sung by none other than my dad. 

This is the day
This is the day

This is the day that the Lord has made

That the Lord has made

I will rejoice

I will rejoice

I will rejoice and be glad in it

And be glad in it.

I couldn't tell you who sung the song, and I am almost certain it didn't win a Grammy, but it doesn't make the message behind it any less powerful and true.

What resonates with me about this song is what it emphasizes. We can all rejoice in anything to the point of idolizing it. According to Merriam-Webster, rejoice means "to feel joy or great delight," so if we want to rejoice in a great Netflix documentary or having a three-day weekend to celebrate an obscure holiday, we could. But this song is emphasizing who made the day and taking delight in it. Dallas Baptist University** defines glorifying God as "to mirror His image, which is to love, and to love generously, as he does." I believe God takes great delight in what he made, and if we are to take delight in each day he made, we are mirroring his image by loving what he loves in the way he loves it. This song takes my heart and mind back to why I even try to be my best in all I do. 

Secondly, Matthew 22:37 says, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul, and with all of your mind." Loving the Lord looks like being your best with the right motives, motives that glorify God. Solomon once prayed to God, "Give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong" (1 Kings 3:9) - as the story goes, God granted wise Solomon this wish, and gave him a lot more than just what he asked for, making him the richest king in human history. Solomon doesn't ask God to give him the power to please the man in the tweed suit with a mind-blowing lesson plan, or to move up the corporate ladder. No, he asks that God will give him a discerning heart. Why? It glorifies God.  

For me, glorifying God is taking delight in each day as an opportunity to serve the students with incredible opportunities to learn and grow; glorifying God is using wisdom to distinguish between right and wrong so I can help the students know the difference too. It's not about the man in the tweed suit, gaining national notoriety, or making more money than needed to survive. When it becomes about my own advancement, it changes who I serve and glorify. My god becomes about me, my agenda, and making my needs the highest priority when I take my focus off of God and how to glorify him. This is what caused the downfall of Solomon. He took his eyes off of honoring God and instead focused on how his wealth, prosperity, and position could make him his own god. At some point, the tweed-suited man distracted Solomon from what initially crowned him king.

If you struggle with fixing your eyes on God and using your life to glorify him, it helps to identify the tweed-suit man in your life. Maybe you've got great intentions, but your motivation is wrong. For example, me putting together the right lesson plan that was flawless is a noble endeavor, but doing it to impress who I thought was the principal of another school was wrong. Or maybe, you're in the muddy part of life, deep in sin and rebellion and you desire to put to death those ugly habits that overshadow a life protected by the love of the Father. In the end, you're not glorifying God, but the flesh.

In either case, a good starting point is to recognize where you stepped away from God and what caused it, then allow God to train your heart and mind to turn to him rather than the motives of the flesh. As you dig deep into this heart change, don't forget to put on an attitude of gratitude, rejoicing in each day that the Lord has made. 

I try my best to make each day at school about the kids and glorifying God by how I teach them, but I'll admit, the tweed-suit man often comes through my heart and mind and likes to toy with it. Sometimes, he comes in the room in the form of my boss, and I begin to craft my lesson around pleasing her. Though I do tend to lose focus on the mission at hand: honoring God through the way I teach and love my students, I am grateful for the infinite opportunities to come back the following day stronger than the days leading up to it. 

Through God's grace, I can refocus my attention back on who I am here to serve:

My Lord Jesus Christ. 

At your service.

**"Christ: Our Model for Glorifying God" - https://www.dbu.edu/