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| image taken from northup.org |
You hear them all year round in the eastern part of New York State where I live.
Loudly squawking, blue feathers darting here and there.
On Friday morning between 9:30-10, I helped my special needs students do an activity outside with the speech therapist. She was setting up an easy obstacle course with the goal of getting the 1st and 2nd graders to focus on following 2-3 step directions. This group is usually a "cooking group" where we make special treats with the children as they practice social, fine motor and language skills. But this past week was so nice that the therapist decided to just give them a treat after the game. In the group are 2 autistic children (one with aspergers), a Down Syndrome boy, a boy with PVL (form of cerebral palsy) and a boy who is mildly mentally impaired with gross motor delays. It's a fun group and I had all the children in kindergarten 1-2 yrs ago so I know them well.
And I know they have MUCH trouble focusing when outside stimuli is distracting them.
Things like noises.
Like this squawking blue jay that insisted on hanging out in the tree in the part of the school courtyard where we were having group!
I had to keep signing or verbally prompting a couple of the children to look at Mrs. P (the speech therapist) or to listen to what she was saying. I had to redirect one little guy FIVE times within 2 minutes!
That blue jay was really distracting us with his noise! and of course a couple of the boys were trying to see where he was hiding.
And then it dawned on me.......as things often do when I'm teaching little ones.
We believers are often like these little boys.
We allow the "noise" of the world to distract us from the One trying to teach us. The One who is giving us instructions on where to go, what to do, what next step to take.
Don't we??
And sometimes we don't have a special educator (mentor) prompting us to stay on task. To look and listen to our Savior's Voice.
Often we get distracted in this world and allow Satan to squawk so loudly in our lives that we get confused and can't follow the guidelines or instructions that God has placed in our lives.
This is when we need the prompting of the Holy Spirit to remind us to stay the course. To follow the Guideline (the Bible) and follow His directions.
It is in the following of God's Word that we will be successful and remain intimate with Him.
Just like I had to prompt little D and A to stay on task and to listen to each step so they could be successful in following the obstacle course and completing what was expected.
Sometimes the world entices us to look at what it has to offer.......and we are often disappointed in the result. Little "A" was disappointed because, although he was on the right course, he hadn't paid attention to the directions closely. And because of this, he missed getting his treat right away. He had to wait.
Sometimes we have to wait, too. Sometimes, when being off course and not focusing on what God has to show us or tell us, we reap consequences like separation from the intimacy of God. "A" had to be separated from the group for a bit to get back on track. He had to wait another turn around before getting his treat. He had to be patient, look, listen and then act.
We need to be patient, look at God's Word, listen to His Voice leading us, and then ask forgiveness/repent and get back on track.
Is Satan loudly clamoring for your attention??
Get into the Word........follow its guidelines for your path.
I need this reminder, too!! Sometimes it's so easy to be distracted by the "noise" of this world. BUT....
God has a plan for our lives!!
Just like we had a plan for this lesson on Friday, so too, does God have a plan for us. We need to keep focused, look, and listen.
And we'll reap the blessing!
And yes, little "A" finally got his popsicle treat.
Like this squawking blue jay that insisted on hanging out in the tree in the part of the school courtyard where we were having group!
I had to keep signing or verbally prompting a couple of the children to look at Mrs. P (the speech therapist) or to listen to what she was saying. I had to redirect one little guy FIVE times within 2 minutes!
That blue jay was really distracting us with his noise! and of course a couple of the boys were trying to see where he was hiding.
And then it dawned on me.......as things often do when I'm teaching little ones.
We believers are often like these little boys.
We allow the "noise" of the world to distract us from the One trying to teach us. The One who is giving us instructions on where to go, what to do, what next step to take.
Don't we??
And sometimes we don't have a special educator (mentor) prompting us to stay on task. To look and listen to our Savior's Voice.
Often we get distracted in this world and allow Satan to squawk so loudly in our lives that we get confused and can't follow the guidelines or instructions that God has placed in our lives.
This is when we need the prompting of the Holy Spirit to remind us to stay the course. To follow the Guideline (the Bible) and follow His directions.
It is in the following of God's Word that we will be successful and remain intimate with Him.
Just like I had to prompt little D and A to stay on task and to listen to each step so they could be successful in following the obstacle course and completing what was expected.
Sometimes the world entices us to look at what it has to offer.......and we are often disappointed in the result. Little "A" was disappointed because, although he was on the right course, he hadn't paid attention to the directions closely. And because of this, he missed getting his treat right away. He had to wait.
Sometimes we have to wait, too. Sometimes, when being off course and not focusing on what God has to show us or tell us, we reap consequences like separation from the intimacy of God. "A" had to be separated from the group for a bit to get back on track. He had to wait another turn around before getting his treat. He had to be patient, look, listen and then act.
We need to be patient, look at God's Word, listen to His Voice leading us, and then ask forgiveness/repent and get back on track.
Is Satan loudly clamoring for your attention??
Get into the Word........follow its guidelines for your path.
I need this reminder, too!! Sometimes it's so easy to be distracted by the "noise" of this world. BUT....
God has a plan for our lives!!
Just like we had a plan for this lesson on Friday, so too, does God have a plan for us. We need to keep focused, look, and listen.
And we'll reap the blessing!
And yes, little "A" finally got his popsicle treat.
2 comments:
So many things of this world do clamor loudly to grab our attention, don't they? Great reminder to set our focus on the voice of the Lord and what He would be saying.
So true! It's easy to see when people have ADD or other focus issues how they can get distracted. But, all of us can have our attention turned away from what's most important: God and His Word. What a gentle, picturesque way of reminding us of that.
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