The Joy of the Lord is My Strength

Howdy. It's been a little while, but sometimes you can just feel the Holy Spirit prompting you to share. While I'm not always this docile, I think He's got some good things to say this evening.

The last two Sundays, I've been able to spend some quality with my extended family. We had a bridal shower for my sister-in-law to-be and then today, on Palm Sunday, we celebrated 150 years of the Sacrament of Matrimony between my grandparents (55 years) and two of my great aunts & uncles (50 & 45 years). Imagine how much more epic this event would have been had it not fallen during Lent this year... still, a solemnity is a solemnity.

Numerous times I was asked, do you like teaching, do you like where you are at, are you staying for next year? Despite the various blog posts I've made pointing out my struggles to survive, I've since reached a turning point and have more fully embraced where I am and what I am doing. I answered the above questions with a yes, but often seeking to explain my answer a little more. Some times I would expand, other times I left it at a basic answer.

A turning point... overall I'm just more optimistic about spending my days in a high school classroom, building relationships and setting a positive example for students. While there are still days I don't really have a clue what I should be teaching in the next 47 minute class period, I fret and worry less and do/teach more. Beyond the facilitation of knowledge, I have come to see a need for God in this place. It is kind of like going on a mission. It's not just "kind of like" though, I really believe God has called me to be where I am and do what I am doing at this point in time in my life. I could not see that for the first three months, but now I do.

From the Imitation of Mary

... Never let yourself be dismayed, then, as you carry out His commands, however difficult they may be. Hope in Him and He will help you. ...

...Whatever be the situation in which we find ourselves, our salvation depends on fidelity to grace. ...

...No, your state is not of itself a barrier to holiness. For it is not the place nor the occupations that sanctifies a man; it is the man who must sanctify the place and the occupation. ...

... Sanctify what you do in your present state by referring it all to God, and you will not have cause to complain that your duties are a source of distraction. ...

To expand on my basic answer, the joy I am experiencing in this situation and occupation is not because what I do every day is easy. My strength and my joy come from knowing and loving that I am doing God's will. I am not perfect at it, but I'm not trying to be. (..do not regard equality with God something to be grasped at... Phil 2:6) Only God is perfect. When I falter, I admit that I need God all the more. "The joy of the Lord is my strength" Neh 8:1 And surely Our Heavenly Father delights in assisting His children when in need.  Aww-spiration

I close with this prayer from Thursday's daily Regnum Christi e-mail.

You have spoken, Lord,
in the silence of my night
and your word has engraved your will in my heart.
Because you spoke,
there is a will in you that I know:
It is the will of your commands.

I want to fulfill that will, Lord.
I want to believe according to your doctrine.
To hope according to your promises.
To love and live according to your guidance and laws.