Strange Behaviors

A long time ago, in a place faraway (from my life now) I worked as an elementary school counselor. I counseled little kids. They were referred to me for countless reasons, but it usually boiled down to the kid just not behaving well. That was it. It manifested itself in different ways, but it really was about the kid just not acting the way they should. In this district, I worked at, each elementary school had a counselor and we were supervised by one of the three school psychologists who had their doctorate.

I remember a story one of our supervisors told us. He told us a story of a little boy on the playground. Every recess, this little boy would get on all fours and crawl around the playground pushing a ball with his nose. When she first noticed it, the teacher became worried. It was such a strange behavior. Why was this boy pushing a ball around the playground with his nose? Why did he have to get on all fours to do this? After observing this behavior for several recesses, the teacher decided she needed to go to the principal and ask him what to do. So for the next recess, the principal came out and joined the teacher in observing this little boy. Not to disappoint, the boy got on all fours and began pushing the ball around with his nose. The principal looked at the teacher concerned. This really was odd behavior. The principal decided they needed help with this strange child. He invited the school counselor to come out and observe this boy at recess time. The next recess time, the teacher, the principal and the school counselor all stood outside at recess to watch this strange boy. And just like all the other times in the past, the boy got on all fours and pushed a ball around with his nose. The school counselor agreed there was something wrong with this child. She would call the school psychologist. Something needed to be done with this strange child who got on all fours and pushed a ball around the playground with his nose. The school counselor called the school psychologist, who was the person telling this story. She invited him to come observe the child. He did. So out on recess, the teacher, the principal, the school counselor and now the school psychologist all stood outside at recess and observed the young boy, getting down on all fours and pushing a ball around with his nose. The school psychologist watched for a few minutes and then turned to the line of people so concerned for this little boy.

“Has anyone asked him to stop it?” No, was everyone’s response. No one had thought of that. This seemed like such a strange and unusual problem. There must be something seriously wrong with the child.

First things first, the school psychologist walked over to the little boy, bent down and asked him to stop crawling on all fours and pushing the ball with his nose.

“Okay,” said the boy and he got up on his feet and never did it again.

What’s the moral of this story? Well sometimes we can make a mountain out of a mole hill. Sometimes, the simplest thing could be the answer. Sometimes things aren’t always what they seem. As we walk this life, the Christian may face many strange children, getting on all fours, and pushing balls around with their noses. But try the simplest thing first. Ask the child to stop it. Nine times out of ten, they probably will. Nine times out of ten, the problem you are facing, may seem complicated, but it isn’t. It may seem bigger than it is, but it’s actually not a problem at all.

Think of the k.i.s.s. method in life (keep it simple stupid). Everything can be boiled down to it’s essence. Whenever you face a problem, give it to God (the school psychologist of the story). He’ll help you. And what you see as complicated and overwhelming isn’t so for God. He has a solution and will help you, always, 100% of the time. God is good. All the time.