Week 34: Spring
Lesson 28: Going with the Flow

Like a river, I go with the flow.

Getting to the Heart of the Lesson

This week’s lesson is about learning to adapt. Some of us enjoy “going with the flow.” If this is you, adapting to a change in plans or finding a work-around can feel exciting and relatively simple. For others, a change in plans can be really upsetting. It can be difficult to find the inner peace we need to “let go,” “shake it off,” and “move forward.” Understanding the help we need to get through transitions is important given how much and how quickly our world and our lives are changing. Being adaptive is one of the most valuable spiritual practices we can model for young people (and for ourselves!). In Lesson 24, we met Valerie, who is highly adaptive. In this lesson we hear part 2 of her story. Valerie puts her adaptation abilities to work and gives good ideas for us to remember when we face disappointment, a change in plans or an opportunity we had not anticipated.

Teacher Reflection/Activity

Some reading and a 10-20 min exercise (more if you have time and wish to take it) so you are able to experience the teachings offered through this lesson.

Read Valerie’s story below. Have you had a day, recently, that felt like hers? What unexpected or unwanted set of surprises happened? What helped you to adapt? How did you re-balance, let go, shake it off, or move forward? When life circumstances are inviting us to adapt, there are four ways we might find what we need to navigate the transition in a healthy and whole way:

• Relinquishment (1) — “Is there something I can release or let go that would allow me to move through this transition and adapt in a way that brings me relief or surrender?”

• Restoration — “Is there something I can create or contribute in this moment that would bring healing, encouragement or support to myself and others?”

• Reconciliation — “Is there something I need to do or say to bring honesty, care or acceptance to a problem or other situation that did not go well or is not what I wanted?”

• Reverence — “Is there a way prayer, meditation or another ritual can provide the connection and peace I need in order to reconnect with what is most important in this moment?”

As you review this list, notice which feel most natural to you. If you wish, take some time to journal about a recent experience you have had with any of the four Rs. As you move through this week, experiment with the Rs. Call on them as you adapt to changing conditions in your life and in the world around you. Adapting in real time is a sign of being resilient (another R!). Spiritually speaking, our faith, spiritual practices and communities deepen and increase our resiliency.

Read through the lesson before your time with the children. Decide which Activity Exploration will work best for your class (There are usually two options; choose one.). Just below the heading, “Children’s Lesson and Story” you will find the preparations checklist for this lesson so you can collect any needed materials or make arrangements to support your selected activity.

Sacred Text Quotes

Hebrew Scriptures. Psalm 55:22 (NRSV)

Turn your worries over to the Lord. He will keep you going. He will never let godly people be shaken.

Christian Scriptures. Philippians 4:12 (NRSV)

I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough.

Christian Scriptures. John 16:33 (NIV)

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Hebrew Scriptures. Psalm 55:22 (NRSV)

Turn your worries over to the Lord. He will keep you going. He will never let godly people be shaken.

African Indigenous. Kipigis Tribe, Kalenjin People (Kenya)
It is not always physical bravery that counts. One must have the courage to face life as it is, to go through sorrows and always sacrifice oneself for the sake of others.

Wisdom Quotes

I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself. ― Maya Angelou

You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend. ― Bruce Lee

The measure of intelligence is the ability to change. ― Albert Einstein

Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself. ― Rumi

Be sure to click here to download the Teaching Introduction and Instructions.