I Found It!

And what a joy it is to have found it!


The past two months I have had little motivation to do anything related to preparing for this coming school year. And in many ways, rightly so. I completely understand the need teachers have for summer break and feeding their person. We don't get a lot of it during the school year. 


However, this summer has been a struggle for me in ways of fighting my lack of motivation or rather beating myself up for it, but still not finding a way to overcome it. So what is it? I believe I have once again found my source of motivation. My students. 
Rummaging through my enrollment list, I recollect the relationships I started to build this past school year; the quite ones, the rowdy ones, the mischievous folk, the do-gooders, and the ones that are good at heart. Some give you hell, and on occasions, you have to give it right back to them. Ultimately, each one has found a space in my heart and I seek to expose them to ideas and opportunities beyond the little piece of land they call home. God-willing, I can do just that. My boredom, questions of if I really am following God's will, a fair amount of loneliness, distractions, and the redecorating (floors and walls) of my classroom have kept me from spending time at school or hashing out lesson plans. 


A few blessed opportunities of time spent around students - SCCL, POA planning, and county fairs, give me bits and pieces of motivation. However, these have been short lived. Two of those blessings were just with the officers, and frankly four students haven't sent me into a spring of productivity for more than a day or so. Second to these blessings have been some time spent with my colleagues in curving our technological capabilities to stay ahead of the students. Our school district has hopped aboard the iPad craze and is providing one to each of our high school students. I hope I'm ready to go fairly paperless this school year. I might have to be reminded that time spent putting my quizzes and tests on blackboard or other similar software will limit the amount of time I spend grading or accumulating grades.

As thunder and lighting roll around outside, teasing us of a chance of rain, I briefly walked the short block to school and grabbed a few items. With many items and resources still out of place, it simply feels more comfortable to sit here by the window at home, feeling the gradual cooling of the wind. I'm hopeful for rain. But I'm more hopeful for a blessed school year, and a very productive three weeks before the students walk through the doors. 

If you are willing to offer prayers for me, please pray for perseverance, prudence, trust, and productivity. Only by God's grace, can I be Christ to these students and this community.