A New Teacher's Prayer

Dear Lord,

I now know the timing just wasn’t right now.

But I am patient and can wait a little longer.

Prepare me a classroom which will be like a home.

Make it huge, make it comfortable, and supply it

with all of my needs!

Father, let my students enjoy their current teachers.

Let them strive beyond their goals.

Take good care of them and keep them safe.

But remind them to be ready for me!

Thank you for the journey so far.

I’ve cherished the moments that have gotten me here.

Ready my mind, and give me courage, as I

prepare for the fall’s new beginning!

I know my classroom waits beyond this hill,

and I’m walking as quickly as I can!

For not only my classroom waits for my appearance;

My students and school-family are gathered there too!

Soon, dear ones, we will meet at last.

Just be patient, because I am going by God’s timing.

But oh, what a day that day will be!

We will have fun and learn plenty; our brains will grow strong!

And we’ll be there together, especially when rays of sunshine 

turn into cloudy storms.

Dear Father, I can’t wait for our new journey – when I officially 

call myself ‘Teacher.’

Keep me safe and give me wisdom along the way.

And let me follow the examples you gave.

Because, if anyone wants to be a great teacher, all they have 

to do is model after you – the best Teacher there ever was!

Amen! :)

Looking Back On Things...

Clip-art by Mircosoft Office

     Life has a funny way of happening...We encounter things and people that leave impressions on us. We even become people that we never thought of becoming. Sometimes we look back on things and cannot believe we ever encountered unique situations like we had...

     What I mean is that the person that I am today simply cannot believe that I ever made a fan website for a TV show that I once liked, and actually loved (to which I also made "fan-videos" for). The only things that came out of that experience are my basic knowledge in HTML coding, and also my skill of putting together video clips (which has become helpful with my family videos). I also cannot believe that I use to be on forums debating my beliefs in front of different sorts of people, from atheists, deists, wiccans, and even fellow believers. Sometimes I wished I still had that sort of spunk that I had (because I feel like I have gone soft in defending what I believe), but I also appreciate the person that I am now, because I have grown from the teenager that I once was, when I did those things. I do not regret those moments (especially the debating, because it strengthened my faith in God), but I am glad that I have moved on from those moments, from those people.

     I sometimes wonder what I should be like in the future. Should I have been a cook, creating foods galore? Should I have went to college to be a preacher/pastor? Should I have enrolled in college to be an E.S.E teacher, dealing with specifically older children with physical disabilities? Should I drop my elementary education major and solely concentrate on my writing fictional stories for children or young adults? (Should I still seek that option along with the teaching quest?)

     I sometimes wonder if I made a mistake in choosing education over preaching, cooking, and writing...I always push those thoughts aside by saying, "I can do all of those things while teaching as well..." But can I? Do I even have the option to? Will I ever be a teacher or writer, or will I just fall into a trap and forever wander in this world until my day is done and I've gone to Heaven?

     Let me share a little secret with everyone: Everything I have done has been a struggle. It takes me time! It takes effort! It takes mistakes!...It takes hard, bone-crushing, glass-shattering mistakes! None of it has ever been easy for me...but I try. That is the key...trying.

     It also stinks that I feel way too old...for a 23 year old, yet also behind on my years. That sounds weird to describe, but that is how I feel. I feel mature towards some things, but other things I do not do well, and it makes me feel dumb and useless for even trying. I wish I could turn time around and relive the time when I was 5 years old. My life seemed so simple during that time, and all I had to worry about was that I was afraid of the dark and hated going to sleep at night.

     But, alas, here I am, a college student who aspires to be a teacher and also a children fiction writer...am I crazy to believe I can be both of these things? Especially in today's economy? Do not tell my brain...tell my heart what you think!