Gettin’ Schooled

Fun fact #34: word problems were the bane of my existence in high school…and lately it seems like I can’t seem to get away from them…

If you take one tall musically inclined boy who likes ham and cheese with x amount of dollars divided by six classes at y amount of dollars per class multiplied by 2 campuses and half a dozen times available then add z amount of dollars for gas and snacks multiplied by -1 working vehicle for a week or two times 2 parents available only during h amount of hours what do you get??? Other than a headache..?

… I wish it were a joke or a riddle with a snappy ending…I’m much better with those… something akin to if a rooster sits on the peak of an A-frame barn with the ridge running north to south and he’s facing the northwest with the wind blowing in from the east, which side will the egg roll down…? I’ll give you a minute if you need it… (feel free to leave the answer in a comment down below to help your fellow brother or sister out…!)

The whole first math ridden scenario easily gets out of hand in my brain and there I am subtracting 29 hours worth of things that need to happen from 24 hours in the day and it leaves me in the negative… Figuratively and literally.

So there I was Monday floundering in the problem tossing around those variables of time and money and wishes and wants and needs but remember how I said I was never really good at word problems? … Go ask my mama…she can probably relate stories of much crying and gnashing of teeth…

Overwhelmed becomes a default mode for me sometimes. I throw up my hands and throw down my pencil and declare there are just too many moving parts! But I realized I can’t solve anything unless I find the constant… In this life, that would be Jesus. He never changes or shifts. He’ll always help us assign the values and then work the problem…

Looking back at my math woes from long ago, part of my problem then and probably now too is I hated to ask for help. Because I thought I should know how to do it . If I just sat through the class and I had the sample problems right in front of me it should be a piece of cake right? And even after several attempts and eraser dust everywhere I would still be so stubborn and blinded that I couldn’t make sense out of any of it! But there comes a point when you see you really do just need a person to come along side you to put stuff in simple terms,  set a priority, throw out the unnecessary bits, focus in on the only parts that matter and maybe point out something you’re missing. And it’s not weak at all to ask for help. You know how those sneaky word problem (and joke) writers are…

So I bow to peace today. We have a makeshift plan. And things are slowly coming together. And I am thankful for deep breaths, stepping back, and long talks and assurances from the husband and God about the next best step we have to take in matters of schooling and cars and work for the boy… about helping him navigate his own word (world?) problems…about this beginning foray into the grown-up thing… and I start to see maybe it’s not so complicated after all…

Are you working on a problem today? I’ll guarantee you’re not alone! Don’t be afraid to find the constant and ask for help. Remember God multiplies but Satan divides..!

Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and anyone who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to those who knock. ~ Matthew 7:7-8

♥

Linking up over at Holley Gerth’s pretty sight today…