Learning from Everything

I suffer from thinking I know so much.  Not that I think I know everything, and not that I don't want to learn more,  sometimes I just think I know a lot.  Than God for God in my life.  He teaches me constantly. I have many teachers. Some of the best are the people God puts in your life.  They can be friends, family, the love of your life or just acquaintances, but they are children of God and they can teach you if you take the time to listen.

I have several teachers I know I can learn from and have recognized much through what they have taught me, but today I found out I had a new teacher.  Actually I recognized him as a teacher awhile ago, but our views are so different, that I got to thinking I knew so much, I forgot to listen to him.  By the grace of God, I listened and was blessed.

This guy is a great guy and we have many talks and discussions on God, but like I said our views differ.  He is very much old thought and somewhat fundamental in his beliefs.  I have come to different thoughts and beliefs than his. That hasn't mattered as he loves God and we have a respect for each others views.  Thing is, I have been where he is in his beliefs and they didn't work for me, so sometimes I tend to hear him as the old stuff in me.  I hear things I no longer believe, and so I take it with a grain of salt and let it go and concentrate on the things we do have in common in our beliefs.  Yesterday I was reminded how much everyone is a teacher, and I learned from him.

He gave me some video tapes to watch of a preacher he likes.  I wanted to watch them, because you can always learn from anybody else, and I like to learn and listen to different people.  I have had a busy two weeks, and haven't made time to watch them.  Last night, he pretty much called me on it.

I realized today as I was cleaning house and doing some other stuff, that I needed to watch them, and that I had put them aside because I was expecting them to be like so much of what I had seen before and rejected in my life.  That old duality that is life.  Like so much in life we want two things at the same time, or think two thoughts about the same thing.  Like when I was a waiter.  I wanted to go home because I was tired, but I wanted to stay, because I wanted to make more money.  I was at work, wanting to go and wanting to stay at the same time.

Here I was wanting to watch the videos to learn, but putting them off because I thought they would be about something I already knew.  What a dolt.  So anyhow, I stopped what I was doing, and decided to make some time to see what this preacher had to say.  I was blessed from the start.

The first thing out of his mouth was about turning to Isaiah 42.  I had just recently been studying and learning from Isaiah 42 and 43, so I knew I was in for a treat.  I love it when things come together.  I am a big proponent of NOW.  Forget the past and live and learn NOW.  That's why I was in Isaiah 42 and 43, because I like the passages about God doing something new and wonderful, and about ceasing to be blind and deaf.  I believe it speaks to today, to NOW.  God is doing new things and showing us new ways to those who again see and hear.

Anyhow, I really enjoyed the tape and reaffirmed many of my new beliefs.  I opened up my ears and heard and was blessed, pure and simple.  

The funny thing is how much it brought home how I think I know, and how I am reminded how little I really do.  Everything works to a purpose.  I had the tapes sitting on my desk last week as I read through those chapters in Isaiah.  The neat thing is it meant so much more to me having already been interested in the chapters, and then watching the video.  It was the right time to watch and to see and hear.  My friends prod last night was timed just right.  God works thru us all, but it especially beautiful when you get to see a glimpse of it.  

My friend gave me a gift of knowledge thru this video, and now I am sure that I in turn will be a teacher of what I have learned and the circle of God's children teaching and learning more and more of their Creator goes on and on.  Thank you God!