Comfort in the Details

I have been managing the tutoring lab on campus for a few years now. Recently, the enrollment numbers on the West Bank campus have grown drastically which has caused the college to open up more classes so that students can have a full schedule. This is a great for the college, but on the West Bank we lack space. Having space on campus is like gold. So to help accommodate the growth of numbers and perusing a project that my boss and I have been working on - an electronic classroom - I offered the idea of turning the tutoring lab into a classroom. It's a big room with roughly about 30 computers, perfect size for a classroom. After a few days of my boss contemplating upon the idea, she accepted it and made according changes. Now, over 15 classes are being held in the tutoring room. It's great to see the program flourishing and a place for students to have class. But what did this mean for the tutoring program? Well, it had to move somewhere else on campus or it would be no more. So the tutoring lab did move, to a much smaller room. We moved from a classroom that held 30 computers comfortably to a classroom about 1/4 of the size and somehow squeezes in 15 computers. I am very grateful for the space and that there is a place for students to come and get help with their math classes for free. In fact we are open 54 hours a week - even on Saturdays. Some days we see as many as 60 students come in and out our lab (sometimes even more if it's close to a test day). I think the program is a success. But I have to say, making this transition from a large classroom to a small computer lab has been a bit stressful. I'm not crazy about the change either (even it being my idea!), but I understand why it had to happen. Not many people like change, and moving from a space that was comfortable to a place that is a little more crammed can be uncomfortable. This past year, as the manager, I've heard SO many complaints about this change. In my eyes, the students should be happy that there IS a tutoring lab provided for them for free, but some of the students don't see it that way. They complain that there are not enough computers, the computers are too close to one another, etc. Of course this makes sense to them because they don't see the BIG picture. They don't understand that because of this move MANY students are now having a chance to take the math classes they need to graduate. Without making this switch, the math department wouldn't have another classroom. For the persistent complainers, I've taken the time and explained to them why the move had to happen. Some of the complainers quit complaining because now the move makes sense to them, but others have chosen to continue to complain and not accept the move. Unfortunately these students can't get pass the smallness of our lab and now miss out on the great opportunity to get help in their math classes.

I wonder if God ever gets frustrated with us sometimes? He provides for us, and yet we still complain sometimes about what He provided for us. Look at the Israelites in the Old Testament - God provided food and led them, yet they still complained. They wanted a king, and God gave them a king, and they still complained. Look at your own life. What is God providing for you and  yet you still complain? Are you so focused on the little things, that you forget how it all makes sense in the big picture? Have you ever been so closed minded that you can't get passed the little details and have missed a great opportunity? Is your comfort found in the details?

-Miche