November 16th

Pass on What You Have Learned

            You then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus; and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.

2 Timothy 2:1-2

            We have received a tremendous inheritance.  We have learned lessons from our schooling and our teachers and our professors.  We have learned lessons from our parents.  We have learned lessons from pastors and mentors.  We have learned lessons from our experiences and successes and mistakes.  We have learned lessons from our children.

            We know a lot.  We know a lot about life.  We know a lot about God.  We know a lot about our children and parenting a child who has special needs and trying to be faithful in the midst of that.  We know the sacrifices that it takes.  We know the perseverance that it takes.  We know the heartache it brings and the joy that is available on the journey.

            This wealth of knowledge is not intended to die with us.  We are to take this hard-earned wisdom and pass it on.  We are to share it with others who will value it as the treasure that it is.  It could be a young couple who have just discovered that their child is on the spectrum.  It could be a woman who has just become a believer or a man who has just recommitted his life to Jesus.  It could be new parents.  It could be our own children.  We are to take what we have learned and give it away and teach others how to give it away in turn.

            This is true in our parenting.  It is true in our faith.  It is true in all the other areas of our lives.  Teach others who will pass that information on to others.  But how do we avoid being the annoying parent who gives unwanted advice?  How do we pass on what we know to people who actually want to hear it?

            I have found that it mostly comes down to questions.  Who is asking for your advice?  Who is interested to listen to your stories and asks you to clarify and go into more detail?  Who shows that they are hungry to learn and ready to listen?  Follow the questions to find those who are ready to benefit from your wisdom.

            However, people cannot ask questions if they do not know that you are a resource.  The first step is always ours, allowing ourselves to be seen and known…being vulnerable about where we have come from and what we have experienced.  I have never met someone in the grocery store who wondered out loud to me where they could find someone who knew what it was like to pray for a child who was not healed.  Never.  However when I write stories in this blog or I preach or I share my experiences with other parents, those questions often come up fairly quickly.  The first step to sharing what we know is admitting what we know and allowing people to decide whether they want to know more.  It is vulnerable and risky but that is the process that Paul is describing.

            And allow me to simply say this:  The wisdom that you carry with you is worth passing on for it is knowledge that has been refined in the most intense of fires.

           

A moment to reflect:

Who can you pass on your knowledge to?