You Make a Difference: Terrific TeachersSample

A Faithful Steward

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. I PETER 4:10–11 NIV

“Evie, I am telling you this as your friend,” Josie said. “You aren’t ready to go back to school. You aren’t well enough. Don’t do it.” Evie was two weeks past an emergency appendectomy. Her doctor had cleared her to return to work, but she was still weak. Everything in her longed for another week to recover, but it felt impossible. Not only were her students falling behind in her absence, but a districtwide sub shortage had left school administration scrambling to cover her classes. Persistent, polite emails from her principal had sent a clear message: Time’s up. We need you back to work.

When Evie arrived at school the next morning, the walk from the front door to her classroom seemed to take an eternity. By the time she unlocked her door and sat down at her desk to attempt to sort through two weeks of student papers and sub notes, she was already exhausted. A few hours later, she stepped into the hallway and felt her knees buckle beneath her. She reached out to place one hand to steady herself against a nearby bulletin board before sitting down on the floor. Evie sat for a moment in the empty hallway, her back against the cool cinder-block wall, and took deep breaths to slow the pounding of her heart. Josie had clearly been right. She had returned to work too soon. It has often been said that teaching is more than a job; it is a calling.

Teachers inspire with their dedication and sacrifice, and that is beautiful. The problem is when we confuse sacrifice with self-neglect, the calling with co-dependency. In the above Scripture passage, Peter urges believers to “serve with the strength God provides.” The mystery of this is that the same God with whom resides infinite power and strength has built rhythms of rest and restoration into creation. The Creator who calls the sun high into the sky each day so that we have light to work, blankets the world in darkness and starlight each night so that we might rest. Yes, God is honored by the way we love and serve our students with the gifts He has given us, but that doesn’t mean He expects us to use those gifts in a harmful way. We matter to God not because of what we do but because of who we are.

Father, Have mercy on me. It is easy to fall into patterns of self-neglect in the name of service, denying my own needs to the point of exhaustion. Free me from the lie that my worth is measured by what I produce. Help me to care for myself the way I would a beloved child: gently, tenderly, and carefully. Because that is who I am—Your beloved child. I am Yours. Amen.