LEAven Blog

I consider myself to be a nostalgic person – one who looks back on the past with a certain longing. Often, that nostalgia comes when I come across games and devices from my childhood on sites like eBay. Recently, I noticed a group on Facebook entitled “Tudor Games Electric Football World.” I had to look at the postings!

Every 8-year-old boy in my school and neighborhood wanted one of these games. Electric football was a game played out on a small NFL-style gridiron made of metal with individual players for two teams (mine were from Super Bowl V – the Colts vs. Cowboys). Each player was connected to a plastic stand with little bristles underneath. When the game was plugged in and turned on, the metal would vibrate, causing the players to move.

In reading the posts in the group, nostalgia swept over me. However, I also realized that the memory of the game was better than the game itself. The players were notoriously difficult to direct and control. Burly lineman would get their arms caught together and spin around the field in an odd type of dance move. And passing required the use of a separate quarterback/kicker player, making that element of the game difficult to control. It was fun remembering the game, but I doubt whether I would try to play it again.

The allure of nostalgia can also extend to Lutheran education. We may long for the “good old days” when students were more respectful, teachers had more authority, most students were also church members, and learning seemed simpler. Perhaps you would prefer to return to classrooms without computers or AI. However, romanticizing the past can blind us from God’s purpose for us as 21st-century educators.

God has called each of us to serve in a particular time and place. While one might be nostalgic for the past in education, we have been blessed with the awesome responsibility of TODAY serving those students and families that God has placed in our care.

In the book of Esther, we see a similar theme. Esther, a young Jewish woman, was placed in a position of great influence at a specific time in history. She was called to use her position to save her people from destruction. The Bible tells us, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14).

Just as Esther served at a specific time and place in history, YOU have been set aside for this time in education and ministry. As educators, let us strive to be innovative and adaptable, always seeking to improve our practice. By embracing the present and trusting in God’s plan and accepting His timing, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of our students with the help of the Holy Spirit.