23 Blessings...A New School Year!

Tonight, my mind is racing with a million things I have to do before school starts next Tuesday, but my heart is at peace after I met my new students tonight.  I cannot explain to you how sweet their smiles were, and how eager and excited they seemed for a new year!  This is my first "new" group of students I've had since I first started teaching because last year I looped up with my class.  I've been praying for some time that my heart would open to loving these new students the way I loved my babies for the past two years.  My prayers have been answered-I only spent a few minutes with each of the 18 students that came in, but I already love them, and they're already mine.  

How blessed am I that everyday I get to spend my time and energy teaching and helping these 23 little friends grow into smart, respectful, and loving people!  I am already so excited about the potential I see in each of them.  I've been praying for these 23 students since the end of last year. And then tonight, there they were missing teeth grins and all.  I’m so excited that the Lord gave me this opportunity to work with such a special group of student.

Every teacher thinks their class is special, but my class is special.  I have A LOT of English Language Learners.  And when I say a lot, I’m talking 17 out of the 23.  That’s a lot.  Most of their families speak little to no English. It's a challenge for sure.  It’s the most I’ve ever had and for the past week I’ve been worried and stressed about how am I going to provide my best for that many kids that will need me so desperately?  How will I teach them all to read?  How will they pass their math benchmark? How this? How that? My mind and my heart already felt defeated, and then...

Tonight when I saw their sweet faces the challenge I was facing turned in to a blessing.  All the ‘how is this going to work’ questions disappeared.  I felt the Lord give me a peace about my stress and my special class.  I could fell the Holy Spirit telling me, “Heather it’s going to be okay, this happened for a reason.  I have prepared you for this.  You are equipped for this.  This is where I want you and trust that I will not leave you or forsake you.” 

Now am I aware that it’s not going to be cupcakes, rainbows, and butterflies?  Absolutely.  BUT, I know God is bigger than any of my fears or worries and He can absolutely help me help my kids succeed.  Not only can He, but He will. 

My hope and my prayer above any perfect test score or reading level is that my students would come to know the love of our living and holy God.  What an awesome opportunity I have to shower my students and their families with the love of Christ.  I know that we’re not allowed to talk about God in school, we can’t pray aloud, and I surely can’t verbally share the gospel.  But, no one can stop me from living it out and loving my students and their families the way Jesus does. 

I know this is going to be a challenge for me, and somedays will be easier than otheres, but it’s what I’m called to do as a follower of Christ.  Every day, every single day I step into my classroom I’m choosing to view it as my mission field.  I’m choosing to be a servant of Christ and serve my twenty-three babies and their families.

I’m going to choose to extend grace to my students, because grace is extended to me even though I’m so undeserving.  I’m choosing to love, even the students that are the hardest to love, because every day God loves me unconditionally regardless of my attitude or choices.  I’m choosing to seek joy with my students; because there are not many things that are better to experience in life than true joy. I’m choosing to have patience each and every day with every single one of my students, because how many times has the Lord been patient with me.  I’m choosing to forgive and move on, because Jesus forgives me daily and He already made the ultimate sacrifice to wash all our sins away.  I’m choosing to be the light and show the love of our Savior because there is nothing more important to me than knowing my students know and love our amazing God.

I cannot wait for my journey to begin this year!  I’m excited about everything I know the Lord can and will do!  I feel so blessed that God has entrusted me with such an important job and I seriously cannot wait to see what God will do over the next nine months in the lives of my students and my own life! 

3 John 1:4 says, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 

Even though these 23 precious children aren't mine, this verse is the desire of my heart!  Please pray that God will work in powerful ways this year in my classroom!  Please pray for my students, for my colleagues, and for me as I enter my mission field daily!