School's Out for Summer...School's Out Forever?????

Our last day of school was last Friday. My finals are checked, my grades are in, I'm working on all the end of the year details. And by details, I of course mean re-writing the 9th English and 6th Social Studies curriculums with ACSI Biblical Integrations. No small task, I assure you. Throughout it all, I have had a little time to process the end of the year.

I taught my last class in a classroom for two years. I know that God has an amazing place prepared for my on Wyld Life Staff, but I am really going to miss the classroom. Take this, for example. On my last day of creative writing I had my students share what they learned about writing, what they learned about themselves, and one of their favorite pieces of writing. Three 7th grade girls shared that they joined the class because they wanted to have me again (I student taught them), but in the process fell in love with writing, the importance of words, and gained confidence in their written voices. Another broke into tears as she read a good-bye poem thanking me for all i've taught her about Social Studies, Creative Writing, and basketball. Talk about affirmation from God that I was in the right place this semester.

Or take this English essay: One freshmen girl, when asked what the literature taught her about human nature and herself, responded that a lot of the stories we read (Night, Lord of the Flies, Poison, etc.) dealt with the negative aspects of human nature (aka sin). She said that it was easy to look at the stories and criticize the characters, but she then began to realize that she's just like them. That literature is powerful because it accurately reflects human nature and her nature. She continued to share that our discussions of literature caused her to examine her life and renew her passion for her faith. Again...God is good and was doing greater things with me than I was ever aware of.

My future is in God's hands and if his plans are for me to stay with Young Life or another ministry, then I will pursue that wholeheartedly...and I know that I will still be teaching in very significant ways, but my heart's prayer is that school is NOT out forever!