“You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” For those of us that have or have had dogs as our pets, we just might agree with you. But is that true for people as well?

In the last 3 years of my life, I would venture to say that I have learned more than in the previous 30 years! I am not talking about intellectual knowledge though. That’s much more difficult to learn now than it was back in high school! What I am referring to are those lessons that we still need to learn in the classroom of life to be better humans, and better followers that truly serve Jesus.

For example:
When our family decided it was time to move from our comfort zone of the last 10 years to be closer to Drew’s work, we weren’t sure where else in the area to go. For me, as long as we could still attend our church home of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, it didn’t matter where we were. New schools, fine. New neighborhood, ok. New home, absolutely. But when we couldn’t find exactly what we wanted within the desired travel distance from our church, we were discouraged. Drew kept saying, “Let’s look out further”, but I wasn’t willing.

But, it was my time to learn a valuable lesson. I realized that I had placed our church home on a pedestal, and wasn’t willing to go wherever the Lord might be calling us to. When I told Him that I was now ready to go where He led us, even if that meant away from our church family, guess what? We found the perfect house in a great area AND we were led to an amazing church! God will move us and use us, as long as we are willing. I had to learn about letting go and letting God, and He provided.

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.”
Psalm 32:8

“Lead me in your truth and teach me; for you are the God of my salvation.”
Psalm 25:5

“Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”
Psalm 143:10

“Jesus answered, ‘My teaching is not my own. It comes from the One who sent me.'”
John 7:16

Food for thought: Are you currently in the Lord’s classroom? Has He been trying to teach you something, like humility or faith? What is preventing you from learning this?

Fun facts: Dr. Yip Swee Chooi has learned and memorized the entire 1,774 page Oxford Chinese-English dictionary. He hasn’t memorized it like a poem, but can tell you the meaning of each word, what page it is on, and its position on each page. See more on this video.

Photo by: Kari Wiseman – Classroom of Life