Have I ever mentioned that I love my job?
I get to work when my kids are in school. I get a great summer break (with no pay, I might add). I get to work with a fantastic staff. I get to work in a setting that is not contrary to my core beliefs. I get to work more directly with parents than most school staff. But, most of all, I get to spend my work days as a personal investigator … Carole Wheaton, PI … love it!
You see, although my job is all about IEP’s (individualized educational plans), adapting and modifying curriculum (which, of course, I am not qualified to do 😉 ), ensuring that personal safety of the students is achieved, and integration of the students into the ‘typical’ world, the best part of my job is not in my job description, was not in the SETA (special education teaching assistant) program I studied, and will never be something that is asked of me. The best part of my job is the PI part …
I spend almost every minute, of every work day, looking for door knobs, handles, and deadbolts. I am terrible at journaling my observations, but I never stop observing, never stop asking questions of others, never stop hunting for the way into the mind of the students I have the privilege to work with. They amaze me!
The observations come in the midst of teaching an individualized math program when the student has an aha moment and he or she gets it!
Or, in the midst of a class, when the student who normally does not appear to be paying attention faces the front when the teacher stops talking about a subject, and reads the equivalent material in story form.
Or, when a student drifts off for almost five minutes, and I take the time to await his ‘return’, and when he does he looks sheepishly at me and says, “I wasn’t here, was I?” To which I could smile and say, “no worries, I’ll wait.”
Or, when a student is having the equivalent of what a mother would call a hissy fit, or tantrum, and when time and a place to regroup are availed to him, he returns as a person wanting nothing more than reconciliation.
Or, when a student gets to spend time with like minds, like abilities, away from the stress and conformity of the school setting, and, for the first time in the time I had known him, asks a total and proper question.
I wish I had the ability to turn the knobs, the handles, the locks and throw open the doors that sometimes stand between these meaning-filled individuals and their world. I wish I could open the doors for them …
I bet that is what Jesus feels too.
Like a personal investigator (except he already knows everything, right down to the number of hairs on our heads), Jesus spends his time outside a door … but this door has no handle, no knob, no lock. The only thing that keeps it closed is our refusal to welcome Him in.
I do not know the will power it must take for Him to stand there and wait, but I think I understand the value of not forcing ourselves through the door. Part of the joy of being a PI is knowing that the student achieved their eureka moment on their own, with hard work, determination, and their will.
Jesus is not an ogre who forced himself in, He is a gentleman who will wait patiently, knowing that when we finally open the door, and invite Him in, the case is closed, the case is won … and there is no going back!
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock.
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him and dine with him,
and he with Me.”
Revelation 3:20
itsawonderfilledlife 