Less Self

Today was definitely more than a case of the Mondays.
I woke this morning 5 minutes prior to my alarm. Scuffing across my laminate floors I made my way into the bathroom, flicked on the light and was somewhat startled by the thing staring back at me. Messy bed head and a clamy looking face with tired looking eyes sat framed in my mirror. One word could describe such an atrocity: Monday.

I tamed my hair into a braid, pulled on the most comfortable dress I own and once again made the jont over to my classroom. Still, morning improvement was nowhere to be found. My spread sheet of lessons wouldn't print correctly and I soon realized that I left all of my phonics lessons in my apartment. It felt like my day was over even before it started.

Soon my kids all filed in. Behavior wise they started out great, but the steady downward spiral of naughty soon began to take hold of them. It even got to a point where I had them put their heads on their desk for ten minutes in silence so that everyone could calm down and I could regain my sanity.

As funny as this may sound it's days like today that I can't help but appreciate (after I experience it of course). I need to be reminded that in teaching, it's not about me. My first priority in teaching is my students. Granted they do need structure and discipline, but they also need grace and compassion. They need a teacher who is going to give them every chance to succeed and love them even when they're being unruly.

If you think about it we're all like second graders and God is our teacher. We're egocentric, constantly asking Him things, easily distracted, have trouble listening to Him, sometimes chose not to listen to Him, and get upset when He does something we don't like because He knows what's best for us.

If God can put up with all of humanity being like that, I can certainly handle 21 6-8 year olds.

Tomorrow is a new day and I will look at them as a new class.