Plates and Pre-emptive Strikes

Have you ever seen a clown/carnie/magician/whatever do a plate spinning trick? I possess this skill myself, having been taught the basics during the days when I thought creative ministry was the cutting edge thing that would win people to Christ. Anyhow, they actually have a Guiness World Record for this thing, and it's definitely nifty, neato, etc. It kind of looses a bit of its charm, however, when plate-spinning becomes an active metaphor to describe your life, especially your academic one.

I also like to think of the semester as a war, a war of the classes versus you. In order to launch a pre-emptive strike, the classes drop syllabi bombs on you, and some of them you staggering in shock. Having sufficiently scorched the earth, they then go to work in entrenching themselves, and you have to fight back - one bullet at a time. You have to work dilligently and consistently to dislodge the course work; no one said it would be easy, but hey, the best things in life never are.

It's also helpful to see the semester as God's mercy to you. It is good to see each and every book as something that will inspire your imagination, fuel your thoughts, or deepen your understanding, to see each paper as a chance to increase in resoning and communication skills, to see every action as an opportunity of devotion to Christ.

Looks like plate spinning is glorifying to God after all.