SHARING MY GIFT

How God Uses Feedback to Guide my Life

  I have always enjoyed stories people share when they feel that their experiences were in fact God directing their lives through people that they either knew or came in contact with. Whether it was the word from the wise or a simple word of encouragement of that stranger that did something incredible before they disappeared, all of them direct our hearts to our loving God, as something in our soul reached into our hearts and told us that it was God, working in His mysterious ways .

  I have been fortunate enough to not only make a living teaching young people about God (I'm a high school theology teacher) but this same God has used many of my students over the years to encourage me to continue what I'm doing in those classes, that at times lead to some pretty intense discussions.

  Teaching theology is a big chore. It's almost like being a medical doctor in that you sometimes get questions from students that are really looking for direction and if you have the right answer at the right time it's comparable to healing someone's body, except that in this case you can heal someone spiritually. Over the years, I have seen the huge responsibility that comes from this and, believe me, it's always overwhelming.

  When I first started teaching I wasn't sure how long I would do it. I had strong musical ambitions at that time and was still a young man with dreams. Even though I had a lot to learn about teaching methods and delivering a lesson I somehow always seemed to do well with discussions as well as posing questions to students that made them think. That's actually been the greatest compliment I've received over the years, “you make us think!”

  That only happened because that's how I approach life. I've never been one to take things at face value and was taught in college by a wonderful professor to look at all of the data. By doing this, I presented all of the details to young people and before I knew it, they really gave some of our Christian values some thought and in some cases, fully embraced them.

  For example, secular culture is littered with sexual images and that of course, is such a common topic in class. Sadly, many of my students have only dealt with adults that discuss the sin of premarital sex and while that's true I don't go down the same road they've been down before. In my opinion, that's like teaching an algebra class how to add again. Why? They already know how to do that. So in the case of premarital sex being a sin, I know they already know that.

  So I approach the discussion not only with God's will but also with that good old data that cannot be disputed and believe me, it works. When you speak to kids about the number of young Americans that will catch an STD in their lifetime or the number of people with HIV that do not know that they have it or even the emotional, the psychological toll one feels from being used and of course, the absolute disaster of abortion they begin to think about their decisions. They begin to think about the risks that they are taking. And, they begin to think about their future and how it can change forever. Now while many students may hear me but not listen to me I pray that it will at least plant a seed that will grow into a good person in the future.

  Then, we end those discussions with the reminder of why God has His commands. He knows what's best for us! And imagine how fulfilling it is for me to actually see those light bulbs go off since students can, with this approach, understand that God is actually not trying to ruin their lives!

  Those are the good days but when the bad days come (and they do) there is always that little angel that comes to me that says thank you for making them think. But it's even more amazing when a parent contacts me to say the same, especially when they are struggling to get through to their child and say that my class did it for them. I can't even tell you how amazing that feels.

  So I thank God for making me the person that I am. The person that doesn't take things at face value and that gives that same message to his students.

  I thank God for giving me young people that will listen to what I have to tell them. Believe me, there are mornings when I don't want to get out of bed but the opportunity to be God's instrument gives me more than enough strength to do what must be done.

  And, I thank God for giving my students the grace to actually want to tell me of the impact I've had on them because all I want is for them to know the same God I know. However, their feedback along with God's grace keeps me going so I can have the chance to give this message to the next batch of kids that come to my class the following school year.

BIO

CARLOS SOLORZANO has a BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach. He lives in Southern Arizona and teaches theology at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson , AZ

CARLOS SOLORZANO has a BA & MA in Religious Studies from Cal State Long Beach. He lives in Southern Arizona and teaches theology at Salpointe Catholic High School in Tucson , AZ

Contact Carlos at: desert_drumming@yahoo.com