Latin Class

The first of my messages

Latin Class

8/13/11

This portion began in 1985 while I was in Nederland, Texas about to end my junior year at Nederland High School.  It was time to select my classes for my senior year and register as a senior.  This process was completed at home and at the counselor’s office.  All parties involved had to be in agreement with the classes before any else could advance. 

While at home, my parents and I sat down and discussed what I would be taking next year.  Since Nederland High School was considered an academic school, most of the seniors would be taking academic classes instead of the underwater basket weaving courses typically chosen by seniors.  This would prove to be for me as well.  All three of us agreed on my schedule with the exception of one class.

This one class was a battle, for both sides.  I wanted to take German as an elective.  Nederland was one of the few high schools in the area that offered this course and I wanted to be a part of it.  Mrs. Nau was an excellent teacher and musician; she was the school’s choir teacher up to about three years ago.  Mom wanted me to take Latin, stating that it would help my English grade and better my understanding of the English language.  Mrs. Anderson was an older teacher but was just as good as any other teacher at Nederland. 

I could not understand why mom would want me to take Latin. Latin is a considered to be a dead language and really did not have any place in my future.  Mom continued to insist that I take Latin but stuck to the one reason as to why I should take it.  I continued my argument about taking German stating how it would be different than the normal French and Spanish courses. The “argument” continued for another few days and then it was time to make a decision.

When decision time came, I chose the Latin course over the German course and such began my trek in Latin.  To be short…I absolutely hated the course.  Mrs. Anderson did a wonderful job teaching the class, she explained everything wonderfully to our class, treated us fairly in grading, etc.  Darin was still not happy but I was in there for an entire year and accepted the fact that there was no escaping the course.

My Latin grades were fair and my English grades…well, it dropped.  Mom was so sure that it would rise.  True, I did learn many things about root words and their origins. True, I understood some historical culture, not only the civilization portions but also how words and phrases were created and used.  This did not matter to me at the time, I continued to be not happy, but stayed the course.

Present Day:

For the past few years God has been re-arranging my life in a slow but steady manner.  Some of the things that He has been showing me have blown me out of the water.  These life changing thoughts include many things that include Church, Church history and even personal relationships, including restoration.  Church history has been one of the more central study topics that I have been engaged in during this time period.  Restoration has been the main theme for me lately but this came as a complete surprise and actually shock to me, it even caused me to make an apology to my mother.  Up until now I had no reason to tie the two subjects together, but with the further realization of my process…these are intertwined more than I knew.

When God shows me things, it is never glamorous, loud, elaborate or flashing.  It is always short, clear and simple.  This time was no exception.  Remember…God has a sense of humor in things, it is very important that humans keep this in mind.  God likes to show us things when we are least expectant of things.

I was in the bathroom when this occurred.  I was reading an article on the Kingdom of Galicia, which is an ancient kingdom located in the upper coastal region of Spain.  It was saying how the Catholic roots of the country began in the 400s and how the kings and lords all fought to contain the outside invaders from taking over the land and destroying the churches.  I read a certain sentence and it had a reference at its end.  I turned to the reference and it was in Latin, followed by the English translation.  It was here that things once again changed for me.  I cannot explain why the thought came to me at this time all I know is that it did.

I could have read this and understood it if I had paid more attention in Latin class!!!!

All of a sudden, the clear and simple thought of Church History came to my mind.  ALL of the ancient, medieval, early modern and most of the modern historical church documents were written in Latin.  I knew that this type of writing concerning the church had been present and had not thought about it on this level before now.  I have talked about the fact that Latin was the official language of the Church even watched miniseries and movies about the church and its past; never once thought about things in this manner.  I realized now, almost 26 yrs later, that if I would have put my heart into the Latin class my senior year, and kept up with the study of the Latin language, I could be further down the road.

I know it took me a long time to realize the calling God has placed on my life and that restoration is the main focus of this calling.  I also realize that God is still teaching me the concept of restoration, and that it is not time for me to share all of what He has shown me.  To me, this means that not everything that is going to happen…has not happened yet.  There is some more falling that has to take place in the world.  I guess I now have to find out why Church History is a part of my restoration process; it also confirms that I am on the right path in my studies.

This event has further taught me that God knows our lives even down to the last detail, even the details that we do not have a clue about at the present time.  No matter if the “present time” is 20 years in the past or 20 years in the future.  His plan for our lives is revealed in His own way, no matter what you are doing or where you are in the world.  The important thing to remember is, always be listening for His voice.  Accept His words and learn from what is being said or shown to you.  In my experience, it has always been a little bit more of the puzzle explained about my life and the plan that God has for me.  Write them down!! And keep them in an easy place for recalling or usage in the future.

Lastly, I had to apologize to my mother for arguing with her those years ago.  Yeah I know, and she knows, that it was my schedule and I could have continued the argument and eventually would have won.  But even though she did not know the specific future plans for my life, for some reason she wanted me to take that class.  My apology to her was sincere, just and deserved.  My apology to God is just as honest, just, and deserved.  Mom and I laughed about the incident and she even told me about a “God” situation concerning my brother.

This is the gist of the story, there are so many more specific ideas and thoughts that I can place into the message, but I stuck to the one topic.