I found this quote by Timothy Keller. It says: "Our Christian hope is that we're going to live with Christ in a new earth, where there is not only no more death, but where life is what it was always meant to be." It was an "a-ha" moment for me when I read it. Our lives are not what they were supposed to be. As teachers, we aren't supposed to have children from broken homes. Homes weren't intended to be broken. We aren't supposed to have children with multiple disorders and diagnoses where learning becomes an insurmountable challenge. Disorders weren't supposed to happen. Poverty, abuses, addictions...none of these household words were supposed to happen. They weren't part of God's original plan.
But we live with them. They are part of our lives and our classrooms are the showrooms of the society we're in; broken, poor, neglected, challenged, hungry, unloved, and the list goes on. These words only begin to describe what you might face at work. Your work is a mission field. It's the real world; a microcosm of a world created by a perfect God but occupied by sin. Don't let that sin get in your way or come between you and the children in your care. They are the product of a sinful world and you may be the only light they see all day. It's your job to embrace the reality of "what really wasn't supposed to be." Not supposed to be, but really is. We certainly can't overlook or dismiss all the challenges in our classrooms but I believe it is our responsibility to love unconditionally whoever comes to us. That's how Jesus lived and I think He wants us to do the same.
Be blessed by the Lord and highly favored,
Barb
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