I was a smart aleck for a brief moment at car rider duty today. One of my coworkers said, “I have one more car rider slip for you.” I said, “Fine. But you can keep it. I don’t want it.” She responded, “Did you have a bad day today?” I smiled, chuckled, and said, “Nope. I was just being difficult. My day was fine. But yesterday was horrible.”
Yesterday was one of those days that I didn’t have it in me to joke at the end of the day. I was so exhausted and had dealt with so many behavior challenges that all I wanted to do was put the day to bed at 3:30. Do you know those days? The ones where hardly anything goes right and you feel like you’ve either been fighting a steady battle or run over by a truck?...
Each Wednesday night at the beginning of choir practice, I lead a brief devotional with my choir. I usually read a passage of scripture from the coming Sunday’s lectionary texts, offer a brief reflection or challenge, and lead a time of prayer. More often than not, I read the text from Psalms since it lends itself well to what we do as worship leaders. Yet last night I chose the New Testament reading because, truth be told, I was struggling in my desire to be there. Like I said, I wanted to put the day to bed at 3:30.
For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God.
But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it?
But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God.
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness;
“By his wounds you have been healed.”
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
As I read those words last night, I felt God’s spirit connecting with my heart, reminding me that I am exactly where I need to be right now…and in the process giving me a peace that I hadn’t had all day.
Teachers do experience the pain of unjust suffering and have insults hurled at us.
We see the pain of abuse, neglect, hunger, hurt, apathy, exhaustion, and over-indulgence in our students eyes, and we are met with the plethora of resulting actions—acting out to be seen, blending in to not be seen, going back and forth between the two in an effort to find one’s voice.
We receive attitude from students who push as hard as they can to make us react in anger because reacting in anger is all they know and expect, and we are questioned by parents who do not agree with our actions.
We teach students who truly have mental and emotional needs that differ from the “norm” and we do so in classes of at least twenty students of varying socio-economic class, cultural expectations, and academic levels—many of us being the only adult in the room.
These things are parts of the job.
This is what we signed up for.
Yet day in and day out, it is hard work.
It is especially hard when we watch students whom we know capable of success begin to follow behavioral and/or academic paths that we know to be troublesome.
But we keep showing up.
And we keep trying to do good.
And we keep sacrificing monetary success for the belief that investing in lives is much more important than investing riches in the bank.
Jesus was not a public school teacher. But sometimes I wonder if he would have been had such schools existed. And sometimes I wonder if he would be now if he were alive today.
By his wounds we have been healed.
By his strength we keep going.
By his example we welcome the children as they come.
By his Love we are changing the world…
One student at a time…
Even on our very bad days…
Thanks be to God:
The shepherd and guardian of our souls.
Amen.
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