I have had the privelge of teaching school agers this week. To be honest it is not my favorite place to teach, but today was a good day. Prayer helps a lot and God does answer prayers. I specifically prayed today for a good, fun day with my friends and I asked for His extreme wisdom. God answered that prayer today.
The school agers love to play foos ball. They usually play well on their own. I have the rule that they can play it as long as they don't fight. They usually argue a bit here and there, which is normal, but they should not get me involved. I learned with our two children that I do NOT want to be a referee nor should I be put in that position.
Today I was approached by 3 boys and asked to resolve a dispute they had over a foos ball game. These three boys have been friends for years. Two of them grew up in the center I work in; starting in the two year old room and they are now in the second grade. The other boy became part of their friendship over 3 years ago. They are well behaved boys, but they are boys and they are competitive.
When they came up to me and wanted me to resolve their dispute, my first thoughts were 'I really don't want to hear this'. As they were passionately setting forth their case I finally stopped them. I was about to remind them of my rule, but then a wise thought came to my mind (obviously not from me). I looked at the three of them and I said "Which is more important, the foos ball game or your friendship?" They looked at me and then at each other and they all three said their friendship and walked away. They went off and played with legos. They were happy, and there was no question in their minds about what was more important.
As an adult sometimes I need to be reminded of this too. Sometimes I get too concerned about being right, or doing something the right way and miss the big picture of what truly is important.
Proverbs 17:14 Starting a quarrel is like breaching a dam; so drop the matter before a dispute breaks out.
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