Involve Me-I Learn

Daily Gratitude Year 5-Day 300: Today, I am grateful for those who teach us working side by side. 

Side by side is a wonderful place to be. 

"Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn." -Ben Franklin

Some of my best teachers worked worked with me. Mama always said you can't learn to make pie dough with a recipe. You have to learn to know when it feels right. She always had the pie assignment and her old fashioned crisco or lard crusts were the best. She would say, "Touch this. Now, it is right.: 

My music teachers would play with me or sing with us to help us understand what they wanted. It was more than just getting the notes right. It was nailing the emotions, too. 

When my work friend, Kathy, helped me learn to use the computer, she would be nearby at the desk behind me. Patient with my questions. Helping me navigate new waters. She was with me. 

Yes... I am still stuck on the power of the phrase, "I am with you." It seems to be inexhaustible. I've don't think we have touched on the value it adds to a teacher/student relationship.

Dad would walk us through the fields checking sweet corn for readiness. We learned that you could almost scent in on the air. Mama never measured for some of the favorite meals like ham and beans, chicken and noodles, beef stew and the Thanksgiving turkey. We just figured out what was enough and kept flavors in balance.  Sure... there is a starting point... but from there, the process is an experience not a recipe. 

My Mississippi sister-in-law Billie, taught me to make Red Beans and Rice the way her mother taught her. No measuring spoon. Just the right ingredients and a big pot. It is one of my best memories from our times together. 

Side by side. With us. That is our Jesus, too. He didn't really spend much time preaching. He led by example, but did it with his disciples by his side. Then, when the return to heaven was upon him, He gave these words of commission attached to a promise:

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” -Matthew 28:19-20

This means we have a job to do. To paraphrase- "I am not physically present, but I Am with you. My Spirit will never leave you. The Spirit will guide you as you go. Go and do as I did. Be my hands and feet to all nations." 

Jesus taught his disciples the most when they walked side-by-side. With Him. We can still do that today through the gift of his living word...  and with fellow pilgrims. 

Today, I am grateful for those who teach us working side by side.