Go Around

My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness. Isaiah 26:9 NIV

This morning while teaching some of our junior green and blue belts, I gave instructions on how to run the obstacle course. I told them to go around one of the blockers and watch out for others crossing their path. I was teaching them to be aware of their surroundings and to adjust quickly to avoid collision. Well, turns out they didn't quite understand the phrase 'go around'. They did everything but go around.  I don't know how many times we kept telling them to no good end.

Afterwards, I sat them down and explained the meaning of go around and why it's important. At some point in their life they will have to go around something to get where they want to go. Going through an obstacle may not be safe,  and you certainly can't occupy the same physical space as another person. It was a lecture of sorts, my version of judgement I guess.

I hope they heard me. Repetition breeds familiarity so we will work on it again next time. And as they learn we will make it harder so they can hone their skills. This is how they learn the right way to do a drill or obstacle course or a form.

God works the same way. We can learn his word and hone our skills or his judgement comes to correct us. Then we learn what's right and move on. I'd rather get it right the first time but we don't always have that luxury. Praise be that God's judgement is meted out with love. Just like I love those kids. We'll get it next time.