My life thrown into chaos.

If you have ever had a day that was just complete chaos and completely draining emotionally and physically, congratulations. You know what I am going through. Whenever you have a crazy, exhausting day, it usually starts at the very beginning of your day, as did mine. I went through my usual routine of getting up and getting ready. By 7:00, I was standing at the door, ready to go. Victor said his usual, “Lista?” My response was the usual, “Whenever you are!” Then something unusual happened as I climbed into the car…it cut off. Victor tried it again. Nothing. It was not the battery; it was not the transmission…we had no gas. Yes, you all know that feeling when you need to be somewhere and you realize you have no gas. We also had no money. We went back into the house, got some change and hopped on a bus. With only 45 minutes to get to the school, we decided to find and atm and hail a taxi as soon as possible. That’s what we did. With 10 minutes before class started, I arrived at the school. It was especially crucial that I be at the school, not because I was supposed to teach first period, but because we were supposed to have a game with 4th grade during that first period, and you can take a guess as to who, exactly, was in charge of this game…that would be me. I arrived at the school and the first person I saw was Jed, the teacher for 4th grade. Hallelujah! I approached him quickly before entering my own classroom, when he told me that he had forgotten his class would be going on a field trip that day, meaning I would have to teach my math lesson (prepared for later in the day) first period (IN TEN MINUTES!). I’m sure I was running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, for sure. Let’s just say it was not my most impressive lesson, but I survived. I then had my double history class time, then it was time for my meeting. This was no ordinary meeting, mind you. This was a meeting between myself, my principal, the recruiter, and the person who assists the principal. I had set up this meeting to clarify information concerning my living arrangements, and why I am living where I am. These were things that needed to be explained. As I explained these things, they were all very gracious and understood everything I said. They then proceeded to tell me that they had accepted my application to teach at Lincoln, but that I would not be able to do any kind of ministry outside of Lincoln. For those of you who know me, you can understand why this was so difficult. Every church I have been in, I have been deeply involved. I am not one of those people who can go to church, listen to the sermon, and take a hike. That’s just not ME. That’s not how I function or grow. All day today, I have been struggling back and forth with a decision. I have told them that I will decide before spring break, which is March 27th. I am not sure where God wants me right now. If I cannot do any kind of ministry, then I do not believe that it is God’s will for me to be at Lincoln. I do not believe I can function that way. I eventually gave up on the worrying though and decided to sleep it off, then grade papers. Have you ever had times when you just needed a little bit of encouragement and you didn’t even realize it? As I was grading papers, I came across a worksheet I had given my students (a fun one of course!) in which they had to finish the sentence about a funny picture shown. At the bottom of the page, it said, “Notes for teachers.” I hadn’t even looked at this because I definitely did not expect my students to put anything there. On one, Fran had written, “Do this again!” because she had enjoyed the worksheet. Imagine that! Students actually enjoy some worksheets! Shocking! Another of my students had written, “You are a good and fun teacher. =) -Abi” If you have kept up with my blog at all, you will remember that more than one of my students had complained to their parents (who had then complained to Kelli) that they were bored in class. Since then, I have determined to do everything in my power to make life more interesting and keep those students occupied, but this little note of encouragement brightened my day and will definitely keep me going for a good long while. Teachers need encouragement too. So, here I am waiting for answers from the Lord, but encouraged by just a few kind words…
March 9, 2010