Guess Who?

I like this picture for 2 reasons. One, because it has my favorite stuffed animal - my pink panther. My brother Donald had a teddy bear known as Ted E. Bear, so my pink panther's name was pinkapanther. "A" pronounced "Uh" was his middle name. I still have him. He is a fond memory of my childhood. I'd hook his nose over my shoulder and then could have my hands free to do other things. My guess is I was either chasing my brother or trying to get away from him.

Another reason I like this picture is because I'm twisting my hair. I used to do this constantly without realizing it. It's the main reason I took up crocheting when I was in high school. I wanted something else to do with my hands. Twisting yarn around sounded more productive than twisting hair.

I remember one time when I was little. My dad was driving, and I was in the back seat behind him. (This was before we knew to wear seat belts or sit in childseats in the back.) Since my dad was driving, I asked him if he wanted me to twist his hair for him. I really thought I was doing him a favor. For the rest of the trip, I twisted my hair and my dad's.

Sometimes I look at young children and wish they could stay innocent and carefree forever. Ideally, little kids are that way. The truth is, however, that often they have lots of stress and problems at an early age. The situations they find themselves in may cause them to grow up too soon. I know the students I teach have a great deal going on in their lives. One student told me the other day that he couldn't deal with the stress at school because he has so much stress at home.

I worry about some of the older students in middle school. I know that is a very difficult age because it may seem to those students that the whole world is focused on them. Students are very self conscious about how they look or what they wear, who they hang out with, what they like or don't like. The list goes on and on. I'm sure many of us stil worry about some of these things as adults.

I certainly don't want to get stuck in those middle school and high school years. When I do worry about things or find myself concerned about what others may think, I ask myself, "Am I me-centered or God-centered?" Since God loves me just the way I am, why shouldn't I? It may be hard to understand as an adolescent, but hopefully not as an adult.

Yes, when I start to worry or put myself down, the question I ask myself is, "Am I me-centered or God-centered?" If I'm doing the best I can that's all I can do, and I believe God is pleased.

To sum it up another way, one of the sisters told me recently, "When you get to the pearly gates, God will ask, 'Did you love?' not were you successful."

If I'm me-centered, I'm concerned about success. If I'm God-centered, I'm focused on love, God's will, and letting God be in control.

Loving God, help me to get out of the way so that your will may be done in me. Amen.