Everything beautiful in its time

Went to a few secondary schools for their open house this past weekend.  In the words of George W Bush, the phrase which best describes how I felt after visiting a top school, which shall go unnamed, is “shock and awe”.
 
I don’t know whether to be dumbfoundedly impressed or hysterically panicked.  The open house appeared to be substantially organized and run by the students themselves, who looked between 14-15 years old.  They were confident and eloquent, easily held a conversation with adults, clearly able to exercise leadership and organization, and obviously, very intelligent and supremely driven.  The odd thing was that so many of them seemed to be cast from the same mould.  You know, normally in a cohort, there will be some smart ones, some whimsical ones, some eccentric ones, some quiet ones, some sporty ones.  And I’m sure that if I got to know the students better, I would see that.  But what came across very clearly was their leadership, clarity of purpose and confidence.  It was like swimming in a tank of baby sharks.  Not yet big enough to chomp you up, but it’s probably a safe bet these kids will easily have my job in 15-20 years MAX.
 
I don’t believe that every kid who stepped in the gates to that school started out so strikingly competent, so it really must be the school which is doing something right.  If your mission is to breed a tankful of killer sharks that is.  And I really don’t mean that in a bad way – a shark is not a bad guy.  He is just more competent at surviving than you are.  And he’s someone you want on your side in a fight.
 
So, I do think these sorts of schools are needed, and the school staff should be proud of their work.  If these kids really turn out right, we’re going to be in pretty capable hands for decades to come.  But selfishly, maybe I want somebody else’s kid to be the shark that wins the day for Singapore.  It’s a bit scary if my own kid turned out to be this uber-competent and confident overachiever.  And because I've probably overdone the shark analogy, I do also think it's critical that we impart to our future leaders moral, spiritual and social values.  Unlike sharks, people work and live in community.  I've met quite a number of hugely competent shark-types, who sink very quickly because they've gone into a blood frenzy and torn all their colleagues to pieces.  They just don't succeed for themselves or for the community.  So pray for our future leaders, that even as they hone their teeth, they also strengthen their hearts!
 
Just switching tracks from an intimidatingly competent future to looking back on some good memories – I met up with a few old friends from reservist today, as I’m working towards the end of my reservist obligations, and some of us were grumbling about it being Monday.  One smart aleck looked at the schedule ahead of us and quipped “every day’s a Monday!”.  My response?  Well, if everyday’s a Monday, then if we look backwards, everyday was a Sunday J
 
I’ve got some great memories of the Army, going through all sorts of weird things.  The movie Ah Boyz To Men made people laugh with their antics – to those of us who’ve gone through the Army, we know that the stories are funny because they are so real, and actually happened to many of us.  A lot of things that happen are not particularly edifying.  But what do you expect when you throw a bunch of boys together?  Some of the things we had to suffer, I wouldn’t do to my worst enemy.  But they taught me that I could endure so much more than I thought I could.  And now when I look back on those mind-bendingly exhausting days… I guess they really were all Sundays, and I’d do them all again.  So, to all the instructors, fellow cadets, sergeants, officers, OCs, COs, the odd general, and most of all, the real buddies, thanks.
 
Whatever my feelings on the past or the future, the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2     a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3     a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build,
4     a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5     a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6     a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7     a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8     a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.
9 What do workers gain from their toil? 10 I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. 11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
 
There is a time for everything - whatever has transpired in the past, and whatever the future holds, it's a peaceful and joyful life that is certain that God has made everything beautiful in its time.

 

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