#growth #waterwalkinggirls
I am a teacher. Teaching is rooted deep in me. As a little girl I would play school and teach my brother and friends. I never dreamed or desired of being anything else so once I graduated high school there was no question about what I would study. Just as planned I went to Columbia College and received a degree in Elementary Education. Fast forward to today. I have had some bumps in the road early in my teaching career but in the end found my place and have loved teaching children for 21 years. Teaching has been my calling and my ministry. However, in recent years I have had a restlessness and have felt God calling me to something different but I have never put my finger on exactly what would be my next step. On December 6, 2019 I began circling my job in prayer in my journal. I prayed each day for job direction. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV teaches us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” I prayed it every day for so long and really had surrendered to God.
Time marched on and I continued to pray without any insight into what was about to unfold. March 13, 2020. The last day I would write the date on the board of my classroom. The last day I would greet and hug my kindergarten babies goodbye as I put them on the buses. None of us saw this coming. As you know, the next months were a struggle and a strain as I was forced to find new ways to teach and reach the children in my class. It was time to sink or swim. I had to grow or die. I chose to grow! I learned how to participate in Zoom, I began using a private Facebook group with parents to connect with them, and I went live every evening at 7:00 to read to my students. Through all of that I continued to pray for job direction. Then out of the blue it happened. As the school year ended my principal called me in to his office to inform me of an opportunity. Through an unexpected turn of events, someone retiring and our school needing to lose a kindergarten class due to numbers, he offered me the position of the school Instructional coach. Wow! Out of the blue and so unexpected! Or was it? I had been praying for 6 months for job direction and I had surrendered to God whatever His direction would take. Most importantly I had trusted and He showed off. At first I had some mixed emotions because I will no longer be in a classroom working directly with children so I will be out of my comfort zone. Instead I will be working with and teaching teachers. However I know God will equip me and through this process I will grow.
Growth can be scary. Growth can be overwhelming. However growth is good and can also be exciting. Do you have something new in your life that God is asking you to stretch and grow? Are you being asked to submit and trust?
March 13, 2020 will forever be etched in my brain as the closing of one door and opening of another. I have been through an array of emotions but today I am settled on praise. I will lift my hands and praise my Savior for a new adventure, open doors, and growth. In the song, “With Lifted Hands” by Ryan Stevenson the chorus says:
“With every heartbeat in my chest Lord, I surrender all that I have The days yet to come, the days in the past I’m giving you all that I am With lifted hands, with lifted hands.”?
How about you? Are you ready to submit and grow with lifted hands?
Water Walkers 