From the Principal
Applying the Lessons We Learn
On family holidays when I was a kid, my mum used to entertain us by reading books in the car. I have vivid memories of these times—crying at the end of a book called Storm Boy (a book about a boy’s friendship with a pelican), laughing at The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, and being enthralled by the children’s classic Charlotte’s Web, a book about a pig called Wilbur, and his friendship with a spider.
A Hard Lesson Learned
The author of Charlotte’s Web, American novelist E. B. White, was a gifted writer. Less well known was that he was a hypochondriac and, from the age of 10,spent seven decades worrying he would die. At the age of 81, he finally realised it was time to stop worrying. So, he bought a canoe and tied it to the top of his car, went on a trip, and finally began enjoying life! Most of us can understand why E. B. White was so hesitant. If we’re honest with ourselves, we can easily get caught up in the fears of life, in the possibility of things going wrong. How we choose to face these fears then becomes the dominant narrative.
Differing Perspectives
There is a tale about a shoe salesman who was sent to a remote part of the country. When he arrived, he was dismayed because everyone went around barefooted. He wired the company back home: “No prospect for sales here. People don’t wear shoes.”. Later, another salesman went to the same territory. He too immediately sent word to the home office, but his telegram read: “Great potential! People don’t wear shoes here!”.
You may have heard the saying: One man’s disaster, another man’s opportunity. It prompts me to ask of myself: “Are there areas of our faith walk that we might need to bring a different perspective to?”.
Life-long Learning
Stephen Covey in his well-known book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, provided a template for approaching life in its entirety in a manner similar to the second of the two salesmen in the story above. Covey’s template is provided as a set of habits adopted by those considered most effective in life which can be summarised as follows:
1. Be proactive: You are responsible for your life. Decide what you should do and get on with it.
2. Begin with the end in mind: Think of how you want to be remembered at your funeral. Use this as a basis for your everyday behaviour.
3. Put first things first: Devote more time to what’s important but not necessarily urgent.
4. Think win-win: Have an abundance mentality. Seek solutions that benefit all parties.
5. Seek first to understand, then to be understood: Don’t dive into a conversation. Listen until you truly understand the other person.
6. Synergise: Find ways to cooperate with everyone. Value the differences between people.
7. Always look to sharpen up: Continually exercise and renew four elements of yourself: physical, mental, emotional/social, and spiritual.
What Covey says is highly practical, and is in so many ways deeply scriptural too. Maybe the question is: what does it look like to live faithfully as a follower of Jesus, adopting these principles?
Faithful Perspectives
For each of the examples I’ve given, the apostle Paul’s encouragement to the Philippians seems apt and appropriate: “Keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise …and God, who gives peace, will be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).
May it be that we always apply this thinking to the circumstance in our lives where important lessons need to be learnt.
Yours in Christ,
Stuart Kent
This article appeared in the most recent issue of Nurture.
Nurture is the Christian Education National (CEN) flagship publication that seeks to nurture the vision of Christian education in families, schools, and communities; a magazine for parents. As parents of LCS, you receive a copy of the publication four times a year. For more information about the publication, please head to the website: Nurture - Christian Education National (cen.edu.au)