Changing the world at the click of a button sounds like a pretty sweet deal. In fact, doing anything ‘at the click of a button’ has become a proverbial way of saying that you’re making something easier. Minimal effort is required to do something big, possibly even life-changing.
But here I sit, clicking buttons. And it sure doesn’t feel like the world is changing.
In reality, the proverb should probably be changed to say something like ‘change the world, then click a bunch of buttons to document how you made the changes, when you made the changes, the people involved in making the changes, and how you will do it differently in the future, based off of what you learned about changing the world THIS time.’
The button clicking is endless. Like, I think my right index finger may get carpal tunnel soon, if that is even anatomically possible. I feel like an explorer from The Age of Exploration, but rather than seeing a vast sea before my eyes as I set sail, I see buttons on a keyboard. The white crest of a massive wave in front of me looks an awful lot like a data report. Spreadsheets as far as the eye can see. I’ve got three screens pulled up and I’m logged into a different program on each screen to ensure efficiency. I won’t bother to mention the names of the programs or what they do, because it is such inside jargon to my particular career that it would be nonsense to anyone outside of it.
I am a school counselor by day. We used to be called guidance counselors before our state professional union changed our name. They felt as if the term ‘guidance counselor’ did not convey what we actually spent time doing and that it sent a message that we were only available for academic counseling. I appreciate their thoughts, but the name change has had little impact on my day to day life. I’m not sure that even the term ‘school counselor’ conveys that on any given day, I could be a teacher, a principal, a social worker, a case manager, a mental health therapist, a parent to a child that isn’t mine, a bookkeeper, and a college/career guide.
I chose this career because I wanted to change lives; to have an impact on someone’s present and future. I wanted to be able to help students overcome obstacles when there was no one left to turn to. And yet here I sit, clicking buttons.
There are plenty of moments that have felt heroic; romantic in the way that you think life-changing will be. I remember the time a student that had grown up in poverty was offered a great financial aid package from a nearby college. When they found out, they ran to me and embraced me with a hug and said “I get to go to college. Can you believe it?” I fully realize that you had to be there for that statement to give you cold chills. But I WAS there. And trust me. It does give you chills. If you were there. And it’s always great to tell kids that they’ve won the status of valedictorian or that they’ve been awarded a scholarship. But you know what makes all of that possible? Button clicking and paperwork. It’s the backbone. And most days, those idealized moments seem pretty distant as I wear out the mouse on my computer.
And of course I always love helping kids through their moments of crisis. Both the developmentally appropriate ones (I don’t know what I want to do with my future, this boy doesn’t like me, etc...) as well as the ones that you feel completely unprepared for (don’t eat gum you found under the table, don’t take your shirt off in the middle of class, etc...). But again. Each of those meetings is followed by, you guessed it, button clicking.
Daily, routine moments can seem mundane. We look for God in the big moments. Graduations. Weddings. Funerals. His presence is rarely felt while we’re doing laundry. Or paperwork. Or anything that has become a daily habit. Such as clicking buttons.
But that’s not really the story that we see painted in scripture. Sure, God spoke before battles. And met people on mountaintops. And spoke through burning bushes. There were plenty of big moments when God showed up that can’t be forgotten. But His presence is also found in the everyday. The mundane. The routine.
In John 4, we have a lady who has gone to fetch water from a well. Pretty routine task. It would be my equivalent of going to the grocery store, doing dishes, or folding laundry. And Jesus shows up. During her routine task. No mountaintop needed. And her life was changed in a seemingly mundane moment.
And we can all probably quote the verse from Luke, where we hear that there were shepherds ‘keeping watch over their flock’ when an angel of the Lord appears to them. The Bible doesn’t tell us how often they kept watch over their flock. But considering they were shepherds, I’m guessing it was often. It was routine. It was ordinary. And in that moment, Gods messenger shows up and alters the course of their lives and, quite literally, changes the world.
So I’ll just keep clicking my buttons. And who knows? Maybe an angel will appear and give me a life changing message. Or maybe Jesus Himself will show up and alter the course of my life. Maybe I don’t need a mountaintop or a burning bush or a battle to fight. Maybe I can simply go about my routine day and still find the presence of God around me. Maybe I can even hear His voice over the button clicking.
Because sometimes God shows up in majesty, but sometimes He shows up in the mundane.
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