Beyond

To A Degree Greater Than 2.20.26

Beyond: “To a degree greater than”. I took a group of 40 middle school students on a field trip across the country. This meant flying on a plane, walking around an airport, staying in hotels, staying with host families, going into restaurants, attending programs at a variety of locations, and walking the streets of various cities. If you were an observer of this phenomenon this could be obnoxious. 40 middle school students and their oblivious awareness to the volume of their voices and movements of their bodies?! Taking up the whole sidewalk, interrupting, weird questions, trying to save face with their friends, leaving messes completely unaware. If I was a restaurant manager or museum docent or innocent bystander, I would probably brace myself, roll my eyes, and say “ugh, are we really doing this?”

But we trained students around the word “beyond” – to a degree greater than. We were going to go beyond and surpass people’s expectations. We trained students to be attentive, quiet at directions, cognizant, responsive to redirection through signals, and clean up after themselves. This left an impression everywhere we went. Who were these kids? Where did they come from? This was not what they expected. We would get compliments, people would even call the school thousands of miles away or send letters telling how impressive our students were.

We weren’t doing it for accolades, it was just a natural product of our efforts. It became part of our nature as well, so when those we interacted with we would say “how did you get your kids to act so respectful?” (Notice the word “so”, a qualifier that we were a degree greater than what was expected.) We would just smile, “That is how we are.” We embraced the nature of going beyond.

I also have been in situations where someone has surpassed my expectations; it is memorable. A waitress, a show, an accommodation. When I come across something that impresses me, it leaves an impact. To “impress” means to push down, to leave a mark. When I leave an impression on something it is like putting my handprint in the wet concrete of someone’s life. 

Often impressions occur because I did not expect it. I experienced a wave of “beyond” recently. I did not expect it and even describing it will sound like nothing. I was in my quiet, cold, dark living room. Sipping my regular cup of coffee, doing my regular routine, on a normal morning, when nothing is happening. Nothing. My life even feels like a stand still of waiting in this season. Chipping away daily with nothing glamorous in the quiet moments that surmount my hours. And I will forever remember this tiny moment of peace in the midst of my anxiety and feelings of angst in the midst of nothingness. It was reading a passage that spoke directly to my current need and then gave me a promise that made me feel a sense of peace that was a degree greater than my expectation. It was beyond. It surpassed. It transcended my understanding. Because I should not be feeling peace in my current situation. 

So I will remember this feeling of transcendence that can’t be fully described or replicated. But it was like a weight was taken off my chest, it was like a breeze filled my mind and carried away the feelings of worry and anxiety and I could just breathe in peace as if it was oxygen. I felt like I could give my requests fully to God, be thankful for all his current blessings, and feel His Spirit.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all human understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

This is God’s nature – it is beyond our understanding, beyond our expectations, it is a degree greater than anything we can comprehend. It can give you joy in the midst of sorrow, patience in the commotion of life, and peace on the brink of tumult. He brought salvation to the undeserving, providing generously because his nature is beyond.