Intentionality, One Step Further

My husband was cleaning off the desk (the one that I never use when I'm writing) and he came upon a box of photos from my college days. Mixed in with my graduation pictures were a few photos of my French students from my first year of teaching. I sat for a while, taking the time to study the faces before me. Though I couldn't remember the names of every one of my students, I found myself wishing I knew what they were all up to now.

Then one face in particular caught my eye. He was an eight-grader at the time, a young, smiling young man who ended up taking French with me for the next two years. When I ran into him at a grocery store earlier this year, he told me, "You were the best French teacher I ever had."

But what if I knew then what I know now, that he would one day graduate from college, get married, dream of becoming a father, only to lose the baby and suffer through a divorce as well? What would I have said to him then, apart from the French lessons, if I knew of the pain that lay ahead of him? Would I have been MORE intentional with him? Would I have been more intentional with all my students?

The fact is that I was being intentional, but my intent was to be the best French teacher I could be. What I didn't do was go BEYOND my usual level of intentionality by ask God for His intentions for me while I was at the school. Sadly, my purposes were not always the same as His. And sometimes, that is still the case today. 

I must remember that though the word 'intentional' and 'intended' are related, just because I say I am living intentionally doesn't mean that I am living the life God intended for me. If I am not seeking God's purpose for my life, I can easily substitute my own intentions for God's and live the life I intend for myself. When I strive to live intentionally, I must take my intentionality one step further by seeking to live NOT according to the purpose I feel is best, but the one that God has given me.

What is surprising to me is that this is kind of intentionality does not equate busyness. Jesus says in Matthew 11:30, "For my yoke is easy, my burden is light" (which, by the way, is our theme verse for this school year). A teacher can work non-stop to fill his/her classroom with activity and learning, but God's purpose for the teacher may be to take some time at lunch to put down the red pen and listen to a student. A parent can sign up his/her child for as many enrichment classes as the child can handle, but God's purpose for the parent may be to teach the child to rest by modeling rest. For me, being an active, "busy" sort of person, this has been a recent lesson: Seek God's purpose in things great and small, knowing that it may not take the form that you expect.

So, when I write "Parents, be intentional with your children", I don't mean that parents need to do more. Rather, they need seek God's greater purpose in all that they do, from diapers to disciplining. If they find that they are pushing their child to succeed only for their own sense of worth, then they need to pull back. If they rely too much on teachers (in regular school, Sunday school, etc.) to teach and "raise" their child, then they need to do more.

It's the difference between dropping off cookies at a neighbor's house versus asking the neighbor about his/her troubles. Or cooking for a spouse versus encouraging the spouse to grow in Christ's love by being forgiving and gracious. Or being a reliable employee versus being an employee who brings joy and peace to the work place.

You can call it God-given intentionality, God-driven intentionality, God-centered intentionality… whatever you call it, the point is:

How can YOU take your intentionality one step further today?