Miracles and Thanksgiving

Hola and hurray for time to get things together this weekend! :-)

I hear that the WildCats won last night, GO CATS!

It's been a long and challenging week, but the Lord has seen me through it. Whew. Wipe sweat off forehead now. 

Last Sunday I had to return my old car ("Blueberry" or "Ghetto") to my dad. I was very upset because we had our open house at church and I would not be able to attend, but it was one of those "feisty" moments for him, so I did not see any way around it. I did not want to have to hear cursing directed at me or anything of the sort, so I went ahead and drove to southern Atlanta. The whole time I had some great prayer time with the Lord, and I also had to pray to be delivered. As many of you know, I got a new car because this particular car was literally falling apart around me. I prayed constantly for the gas to be like the oil in the temple. . .it seemed like there was some sort of leak. About 40 miles out, we (Leigh Ann and I) had to stop so I could get gas. I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. When we got to the meeting place, I pulled into the parking lot and started moving things to Leigh Ann's car. My dad came over and looked at the front left part of the car. At some point in the final 40 miles, my tire blew. Interstate driving is fast. Logically, my car should have suffered some great explosion and spun me around on the road to crash.

God said no. I cried.

As I said earlier, I had prayed for safety in relation to the gas and the shaking of the car. . .I did not even think to pray for the tires. God protects us even when we do not know that we are in danger. Wow.

I thank Him for that great blessing and so many others. He is awesome.

This week was good as well, I have to say. My students did very well with the substitute teacher we had on Tuesday while I was at a workshop, and for that, I am very thankful. Sometimes, for my students, a change in routine can become very, very stressful for them. Fortunately, this did not happen. No one had a seizure, no one got "feisty," and everyone made it home safe and sound. 

I had my very first IEP meeting on Thursday and I am almost completely done with my students IEP. Wow. All week I just prayed and prayed that it would go well, that the parents would agree with our suggestions for the child, and that everything would be done ethically and legally. 

At 6:02pm on Thursday, the meeting was over (2.5 hours, yes, it was lengthy), and the Lord had answered those prayers. Being a first-year teacher, you really want that first meeting to go well. It was very encouraging. I need that encouragement because my position is very isolated. If you work in a self-contained special education classroom, there is not much interaction with others. There are not many opportunities to be encouraged or encourage others outside of your classroom. While in some ways this is good--I am really getting involved with my kids and parapros--this can also be a huge challenge because I often do not receive much encouragement. 

Upon praying about this situation, the Lord has been very gracious to me. When expressing my feelings to Him, He encourages me. In addition, there are usually a few times a week when He gives me something/someone to encourage me and spur me on to doing the work He has laid out for me before time began. These encouragements may come from a co-worker, a student, a principal, or a parent. God knows what I need to keep going.

Phil. 1:20-26:

"20I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith, 26so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me."

As usual, Paul hits my sentiments right on. It would be FAR EASIER to not do this thing I have been called to do. It would be FAR EASIER to give up on some days. It would be FAR EASIER to not try and put together meaningful lessons for my students. And boy, what an amazing feeling it would be to BE WITH CHRIST. To feel that peace, that joy, that love, that compassion. FAR EASIER.

But just as it was for Paul, it is NECESSARY to press on. It is NECESSARY to continue these works God has prepared in advance for me to do. 

In addition, it gives me joy to press on. Joy to continue. And joy to know that Christ is who gives me my strength. Because of this job, I HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE but to run to God. He understands every situation I am in. Christ experienced all things. He knows that sometimes, I may not have joy. I may just be walking in obedience with Him. However, He spurs me on and gives me joy each morning. I am thankful that there is grace. . .so thankful. 

Heb. 4:14-16:

"14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens,^[a] Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

When I feel weak at work, I know that I can run to Christ. I know that I can talk to Him because He has experienced the very same feelings I have. Christ has cried with compassion, Christ has been hurt and scorned by others, Christ has experienced these things and FAR WORSE. WITHOUT SIN. WITHOUT DOUBTS. WITHOUT HUMAN WEAKNESS. WITHOUT COMPLANING. WITHOUT QUESTIONING. WITHOUT DOUBTING GOD'S CALLING AND GUIDANCE. 

I have human weakness. I cannot always continue on like Christ. And I certainly cannot do anything without Christ. Each day is a battle. A battle against Satan, a battle against sin, a battle against myself, a battle against sin, a battle against control, a battle against worry, a battle against giving up, a battle against the unknown, a battle against the known. And more. 

BUT LORD MAY I APPROACH THE THRONE OF GRACE. . . .MAY YOU CONTINUE TO BE WITHIN ME, GIVING ME POWER, SHOWING ME GRACE, IN MY TIME OF NEED. I know that this is how God works because I see it. May God continuously dwell in me and lead me on.

I really feel God's peace at work, for the most part. There are always times of stress (daily, oh yes), but my prayer for my year is to NOT stress out to the extreme about things that I cannot control. I do my job with whatever strength the Lord gives to me each day, and I try to listen more to God than to myself and my own intentions. If that means that I go down the hall and talk to another teacher for 2-hours, so be it. If that means I work on things for the classroom for 2-hours, so be it. I want badly to have the intentions of the Lord. They definitely do not always match, but I pray that my wishes will continue growing closer and closer to God's wishes each day.  

Col. 3:15:

"15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful."

I pray that I will not take my God for granted.

Flexibility. That's a word that we use all the time, especially in special education. Sometimes, my daily lesson plans are pushed to the side. My flesh says--argh, stick to the schedule! But God places in my heart: DEAL WITH WHAT HAS JUST AROSE! I WILL HELP YOU! I WILL KEEP YOU CALM! If you know me, you know that this is a huge challenge for me. I like schedules, I like order, and being flexible will always be a challenge for me. 

I have seen the Lord at work in my life because I see that I am continually changing. Since becoming a Christian, wow, have I changed. Age 15 seems so long ago. . .and I thank the Lord that over the years, I have grown into a different person. My sanctification is a continuous process, one that I love to be able to see because I want to change. I want to be more like Christ. 

I have daily schedules because I know that to do my job with excellence, I must prepare my heart and mind daily to serve my students to the fullest. However, I am more capable of changing these schedules at the "drop of a hat." This Thursday, I had to go over my classroom rules for AN HOUR. That is so much instructional time it's crazy to comprehend. However, God helped me understand that without doing this, we would lose ever more instructional time dealing with later behaviors. 

Ps. 46:1:

"1 God is our refuge and strength, 
       an ever-present help in trouble."

How true is this? God is the only way. 

He is an ever-present help, even when I don't know what to ask for, who to ask for help, or what to do to best serve others.

I pray that the Lord will continue to guide me and that I will follow willingly without complaint. Lord, I love your love.