apply now/later in life

The day was nice and productive. I'm teaching the kids how to write stories with proper grammar and punctuation and using material that we've covered. I love applied lessons. That's why I use the word hypotenuse all the time. Why let such a concept and fun word go to waste when you can describe a route or dimension to someone? It's all about learning lessons AND applying them. Plus, without fail, nostalgia will overcome the listener as he thinks back to fond memories of jr. high math. Oh those golden days....

Brian Regan has a funny gig about “applying things later in life.” He talks about his time in little league when the coach told the fielders to chatter. “Hey pitcher, pitcher! Is that for the batter’s benefit?” He goes on to apply this chattering to “adult” activities saying, “Hey golfer, golfer. PUTT, Golfer! PUTT! SUE Lawyer, SUE!” And why, because we were suppose to apply those lessons of the baseball field later in life?

It’s a funny gig which makes me think of all the lessons and routines I practice everyday without much of a care why. Why do I hurry from one activity to the next? Because I always ran off the soccer field when I subbed out? Why do I bow my head in prayers? Because I did it as a kid? Why do I make points supported by at least three reasons when I’m arguing with someone? Because I wrote 5-paragraph comps until they came out my ears? Most of these are good lessons that are worth “applying later in life.”

However, what are the lessons and habits I’m creating right now that might not be good to apply later in life? Just because I had happy meals as a child (well Hamburger Stand meals- we NEVER ate at the Arches), doesn’t mean I exaggerate and apply the lessons of over indulgence, poor eating habits, and squandering money.

Most importantly, am I willing to apply the lessons such as love, grace, and mercy that I’ve heard hundreds of times? What does that look like, and can I exaggerate it with the unbridled energy of a little leaguer “chattering” at the opposing team? In the end, this application is the one that counts. Hopefully we were taught these vital lessons through parents, friends, teachers, church members, and even strangers. If we didn’t, we need to get edumicated. We cannot ignore or forget these lessons like some of us did with the concept once we heard the title Quadratic Formula. The lesson and application matter to our own intellectual/spiritual growth for this moment in “later life.” And it matters to those who still need to learn so they have lessons to “apply later in life.”