After they learn how to play, they eagerly develop a plan or two. Without a lot of experience playing chess, the plan seem solid. Not until the game actually begins do they realize their plan was built on assumptions about what their opponent would do and what they could do. They look for a way to accomplish their plan, and miss what’s happening on the board.
Then I crush ‘em.
Every game is different. You have to craft your strategy as the game unfolds.
I graduated college with a lot of plans, but I learned that my plans, and all plans have an assumed context. When I plan a lesson I forecast students’ interests, needs, prior knowledge, focus….
Mindfulness of those elements is important and the longer I am with a group the better my forecasts… but as life unfolds, the world, the students, and the context all change.
I change, too.
Trial and error has been a big part of my post-graduation life. Sometimes well-developed plans fall flat and impromptu decisions carry great impact. I do not intend to stop planning, I just want to pay attention to what is happening around me.
Lately, this has been through contemplative prayer. When I sit still, I begin to recognize God’s presence and His work in the people and places around me. It feels a bit like playing chess— my next move is better when I’m connected to the one who made the game.
"[Mary] sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed-or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." Luke 10:39b-42 NIV
