Connecting Life with Faith: Time Warping

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Recently I had quite a surreal experience.   Almost like out of a dream, or something of that nature, I found myself in the classroom of my old high school history teacher.  A year ago I was in Japan living life as usual doing all the things I normally did.  Who would have known I would have traveled to such an obscure place.  Often times I had recalled the days spent studying under this particular teacher and so recalled his entertaining style and exuberant discourse. But to ever sit and watch him again? The 15 years of time seemed to matter little, as I sat down accompanying a student serving as his aid for the day.  I sat in the desk assuming the position of any other student in the room almost like I was reenacting a moment of history.  The days of my youth filled my mind as I heard the cantor of his familiar voice.  It was like time warping into the past.

As the teacher wove together his discussion on the Articles of Confederation and their role in U.S. history I found myself thoroughly pleased to listen.  I greatly appreciated his verbose and passionate style and wished I could come to school tomorrow and hear more.  There were times I almost felt like raising my hand and answering his questions in the class.  It was a bitter sweet moment.  One that few perhaps can experience.

It was like I was living in a memory for 40 minutes.  To my disappointment, the time in that class seemed to be over instantly.   As I stood up to leave my existence felt out of place and I couldn't help but contemplate the odds.  Why would such an amazing coincidence happen? Is God telling me something?

Is there a profound meaning to all this?

I made sure to thank the teacher and also tell him how much I enjoyed seeing him again and being able to listen to him.  I thanked him for instilling a love of history in me.  I hope it encouraged and blessed him to hear such words.

Like a parent, your teacher will always be your teacher.  No matter how old you become that relationship between master and pupil is sacred, meant to be enjoyed and honored.

So what do I think about all this?

I think it was a reminder of eternity, of how time and experience come together to both form who we are.  God is the author of our story and brings people into our lives to form and shape us. Deja Vu or surreal experiences like this should bring us closer to an understanding of how our experience is so limited and often out of our own control.

Instead of fearing life or freaking out, God says, "Trust me."  He has a plan and a story for our life and the best thing we can do is take it all in.  We were born to live and experience life, and most of all to experience His grace and love through it all.

Bless you for reading, know Him and know His peace today.