"Therefore, whenever we have the opportunity, we should do good to everyone-especially to those in the family of faith."
Galatians 6:10 NLT
This week I accepted two sub jobs I've avoided until now. The first was for high school Geometry, (the only math I ever truly loved), Pre-Calculus and Trigonometry, which I can spell but that's where my skills end. When a student asked for my help in the geometry class, I discovered text book explanations and examples have improved greatly since I took math. They actually appeared to be more than gibberish and demonstrated how to solve the problem. It felt good to help someone solve the problem, but the other two classes were over my head and those students didn't ask for my help, praise the good, good Lord.
This positive experience at the high school gave me the courage to accept a sub job yesterday for 9th grade Algebra. The worksheet I handed out to the students looked smugly at me as if to say, "Remember me? I'm ALGEBRA and I drove you nuts in school. I made you CRY and drove you to give up on math after 10th grade. Wimp!"
For a few seconds I ignored the taunts, but remembering the geometry experience from earlier in the week, determination to beat this fear of ALGEBRA grew inside me. I set my jaw, narrowed my eyes and glared back at the 20 problems thinking, "You're going DOWN!" I studied the example, reviewed the lesson, sharpened my pencil and began. Since the students could work in groups, I double checked my answers with the ones who seemed to know what they were doing. With each correctly solved problem, I grew in confidence and ALGEBRA became algebra until I came to problem #13. I'm not superstitious but after working that problem five times only to find a result of "9=4" every time, I began to reconsider the evil legends about the number 13.
At a break between classes I found help in another math teacher whose eyes actually glowed with this challenge and, before I could explain my frustration, she had worked the problem. I was surprised that what she wrote was exactly what I had written and with the same result: 9=4. She looked at me without blinking, smiled and said, "We know 9 does not equal 4, so the answer is "no solution." A little confused, I asked, "You mean there's no solution to this problem?"
"I mean the answer to this problem is "no solution," she said. "You may run across another problem where the your result is something like 2=2, and in those cases the answer is "infinite solutions."
It began to dawn on me just how evil algebra can be.
I stared back at those 20 problems and said, "So that's how it's gonna be?" as the last seven problems laughed at me.
"Give up?" they asked.
I squared my shoulders and began on #14, leaving #13 with its "no solution" because evidently some problems just don't want to commit to finding a real solution. I'm happy to report the students and I worked together to solve the last seven problems and were able to help other confused students, as well.
Although I see many applications to my math experience, the one that stands out to a "fixer" like me is that a problem 13 with a "no solution" answer shouldn't keep me from working toward solutions for other challenges." Problem 13's could have us busy but spinning our wheels because the person we try to help doesn't want our help, or, because a situation won't be resolved until something or someone beyond our reach changes.
Don't quit, don't give up. Let's stop ramming our heads against "no solution" problems and leave them in God's capable, wise hands until He calls us to tackle it again in His time and His Power. At least seven other people in your life would love and appreciate your friendship, help, prayers, contribution, time and attention; at least seven other opportunities wait in the wings for your unique gifts, talents, resources, and ideas. We can sharpen our prayers and square my shoulders to work on the good works God has planned for us to do instead of wasting our time trying to force logical answers on the Problem 13's in our lives.
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do."
Ephesians 2:10
The Serenity Prayer
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God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.
In loving memory of
Fr Bertram Griffin -- 1932-2000\Requiescat in Pace
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Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths.
Proverbs 3, 5-6
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