The Dry Homestretch - Doug

When I was a student (I can say that now because I’m officially not anymore, I graduated this spring, in absentia of course) my dad always used this phrase around this time of year. He’d look at me and say “you’re in the homestretch now Buddy, you can do it.” That’s how I’m feeling right now. And even though my dad (and whole bunch of other people I love) are thousands of miles away right now I can hear him saying that to me. Welcome to May. I’ve almost made it through my first year as a teacher. We’ve almost made it through our first year on the mission field. I can tell you; this homestretch thing is really hard.
I praise God because I haven’t been homesick yet. I have a definition of Homesickness that I’ve probably shared with some of you at one point or another. It goes like this: “Homesickness is when you want to be home MORE than you want to be where you are.” It’s simple, I know, but it helps me gain perspective. I miss my family, my friends, Dunkin Donuts and the Olive Garden. I miss the feeling of getting the motorcycle out on the road for the first time on a warm day. But I still don’t want to be home more than I want to be here. Why? Because I know that this is where God has called us. He hasn’t said it’s time to go home yet.
I made a bet with a student the other day. I told him I’d buy him pizza if he could stay seated through an entire class period. Up until this point I hadn’t seem him do it yet this year. The bet was he had to stay in his desk until I said “you’re dismissed.” Class ended and he was still seated. I told him “you may go,” but he didn’t fall for it. His class members came by and dumped water on the poor guy and he burned with anger to the point where he wanted to run after them but still he remained seated. I joked with him that I was going to leave him sitting there until the next day to avoid having to buy him pizza. But finally I made good on my bet and I told him the words he was dying to hear. “You’re dismissed.” We haven’t been dismissed yet. Though our students may give us a hard time; though we may have been forced to work a six day week this week; though it may be blazing hot here; though we may be having some serious cravings for an Iced Coffee from the drive through at Dunkin Donuts; though we could really go for a Fenway Frank in the cheap seats; though our building’s water may have been shut down for the last 30 hours leaving us brushing our teeth with bottled water and a little greasy because we can’t shower; we haven’t been dismissed yet. I don’t want to be home more than I want to be right here because this is where God has asked us to stay and this is where we will stay until He says we’re dismissed.
I know that this school year isn’t over yet. As much as I wish it were some days, I am still having some great discussions with my students. On Friday, the day we usually have off but had to work this week, I got into a really cool discussion with my 11th graders. One of them said he had seen a verse quoted on TV the night before from the book of Isaiah. “Why would God punish people for the sins of their fathers?” he asked. So I got to explain to 8 young men how sin has consequences that reach beyond our own lives, even into our children’s lives. Most of them had never thought of it that way.
I’m really glad that back when I was in high school my dad didn’t take any of the difficulty away for me each year in the ‘homestretch.’ He never said, “Give me some of that homework. Let me do it for you. I know you’re really tired and so just let me do it for you.” He never said that because he hates homework too, but ALSO more importantly because it was discipline. He was encouraging, he was supportive but I had to learn the lesson of discipline on my own.
Hebrews 12:7-11 says
“Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
My dad has taught me what discipline really is: Love. So as we sit here a little thirsty and probably a little smelly too, we know that we’ll make it through. We’ll buy a couple more bottles of water, we’ll put on a little more deodorant and cologne because we’re in the ‘homestretch’ and God is disciplining us because He loves us and is still working on us.
P.S. I think the water just came back on!