Life’s a Classroom

Life truly began for me at age 27. That is when I had the “nervous breakdown” that changed my life forever. At that time, I was struggling with depression, addictions, self-hate, and a world of emotional problems. And on February 20, 2002, a.k.a. “nervous breakdown day,” everything reached fever pitch. That turned out to be both the worst and best day of my life. Finding myself in a terribly desperate and hopeless place, I did the only thing that made sense – I prayed for death. In that moment, I could not fathom taking another step toward my life. The thought of getting up the next day, going to work, and doing it all over again seemed impossible from that vantage point. As I lay on my living room floor in fetal position, I was suddenly reminded of something I had heard the pastor say the week before at church, “When you feel you need help, call out to Jesus and He will help you.” Having no other recourse, that is exactly what I did. Much to my surprise, like a Knight in Shining Armor, He actually showed up. I could feel His presence in my living room as His supernatural peace filled the place. Though I did not understand what was happening at the time, I knew it was real. Lying there, unable to move, I was suddenly struck by the realization that everything was going to be alright. Indeed, a much-welcomed change from the hopelessness of the prior moment. Somehow I also knew that nothing was ever going to be the same again. And, by golly, it wasn’t. That was the day I embarked on a healing journey that would leave no stone unturned. Though volumes could be written about the journey itself, it is beyond the scope of this book. Instead, I will be sharing with the reader the most powerful lessons I have learned under the tutelage of life. The title of the book itself actually conveys the first and most pivotal lesson about life - it is a classroom and we are here to learn. A classroom is only as great as its Teacher. The classroom of life also has a great Teacher. His name is God. God is the focal point of life and every lesson points right back to Him. The following verse from the Amplified Bible beautifully accentuates this point: “She will bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus [the Greek form of the Hebrew Joshua, which means Savior], for He will save His people from their sins [that is, prevent them from failing and missing the true end and scope of life, which is God] (Matt. 1:21).” God is the true end and scope of life. Our main purpose is to live in and share intimacy with Him. This truth has been reflected back to me in each and every life lesson. For me, life is God and God is life. The two cannot be separated. They are one and the same. He gave me life, sustains my life, and gives my life purpose. Thus, I have learned that anything gleaned apart from Him is deception. The fact is that we are here to learn and God is eager to teach us. To that one might ask, “What exactly are we here to learn?” The answer is, anything and everything. There is so much to learn. Every circumstance and event in our life offers deep lessons concerning life itself, God, the world, relationships, even ourselves. And every day provides new opportunities and a new lesson plan, whether we participate in it or not. While life can certainly be challenging at times, I have learned the fundamental truth that it is for me and not against me. To live is to continuously grow in God. It is a journey, not a destination. If we did not learn, we would not grow. We would remain stunted in our spiritual and emotional maturity. Growing and learning makes life easier as we go along. Indeed, we are meant to be emotionally and spiritually evolving at all times. To evolve means: "To change or develop slowly, often into a better more complex, or more advanced state: to develop by a process of evolution (Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary, n.d.)." I find an interesting contrast between physical evolution and emotional and spiritual evolution. It is not by choice that our bodily functions are in constant flux, i.e. our body is aging, our organs are performing their respective functions, and our cells are continuously dying and reproducing. These are processes of the human body that happen automatically and organically. While physical evolution takes place automatically, it is not so with its emotional and spiritual counterparts. Nay, emotional and spiritual evolution and growth occur by choice. I am reminded of a sad, yet profound, moment in my life when someone I knew passed away. As I starred at his lifeless body in the coffin I had the realization that though he lived a relatively long life, he failed to learn from life what is truly important. I found myself doing what I hope no one ever does at my funeral - praying to God that I would never be like him. Although he had amassed substantial financial wealth and was acquainted with prominent members of society, his family relationships were in disarray. He allowed money to get in the way of love. His legacy of anger and division is still alive and well in those he left behind. In my estimation, he lived and died and never got a clue. As a result, he robbed himself of life’s true riches. I don’t know about you, but I want to leave a legacy for my children, grandchildren, and future generations of love, destiny, and a life lived with purpose. And today is the day that we can make that happen. But we can only do so by choosing to be a good student of life.