Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3: 5-6
Early this past December I attended an all day writing conference with several co-workers. We attended on a Wednesday, which made it a fun adventure for the four of us since as teachers we are not usually out in the "real world" during school hours. The presenter was very animated and for the most part held the attention of the audience with lots of hands-on activities and great ideas to take back to our classrooms. Even so, as the afternoon rolled on I found myself drifting off thinking of the many things on my "to do" list. I'll blame it on the mild case of ADD I "suffer" from and the fact that we had just returned from an hour and half lunch break (another rare luxury for those in my occupation). As the conference was coming to a close the presenter read a quote, "Where have you been and where are you going?" She asked us to reflect on the question for a moment and then write our thoughts down using as much imagery as possible. What could I picture my life as? A rollercoaster? The seasons? After a second or two of pondering I settled on a road and proceeded to write, "I am standing somewhere on the long, winding road of my life. I can turn around and see where I have been. There are plenty of unexpected curves and the occasional bumps that have kept my life from being far from predictable. There are also long stretches of road so beautiful that if given the chance to, I would journey back and stay if even for just a moment. It's the road I've traveled, my life, and I know it. Yet when I turn to face what lies in front of me, I am met with uncertainty. Where am I going? Where does this road lead?" That was all I had time to write. After a couple minutes of some brave souls sharing what they had written our presenter gave a few closing comments and the conference was over. However, the question, "Where are you going?" stayed with me. I don't know if recently turning 40 along with facing the fact that our youngest will be leaving for college next fall made the question have such a powerful impact on me, but I found myself thinking about it in the days that followed. Had I made a difference in the world? How will I be remembered? What have I done lately to make my life and the lives around me better? I thought the questions might consume me. Then at church the following Sunday when the priest gave us a moment to pray for the intentions in our hearts I simply prayed to God for guidance in finding peace with this matter. I left church that Sunday and didn't give the question anymore thought until a couple weeks later while out shopping for a last minute Christmas gift for my hubby. As I went to pay for the gift I found I saw a familiar face standing behind the checkout counter. The young girl was a former student that I taught years ago. Right away she recognized me and announced to the girl standing beside her that she had been in my third grade class. She added that I was her favorite teacher. Her comments were very sweet and I was flattered. I have to admit though that I was feeling a little old at the same time. She told me that she was a sophomore at Texas A&M studying to be a teacher. I told her I was an A&M fan since I had a senior there this year. I paid for my gift and wished her good luck. Then she told me something that I feel was a little gift from God in response to my prayer to Him weeks before. She said, "I want you to know that you're the reason I am becoming a teacher." Wow, what can you say after such a comment? As soon as I got home I told my husband who didn't seem half as surprised as I had been. So, as a teacher, what did I learn? Well, things I knew all along but I guess needed reminding of. We all make a difference every day of our lives, big or small, positive or negative. Our future, however, can be uncertain. The best way to deal with this uncertainty I found first hand is to pray for God's guidance and trust that the path He leads us down is the one we were meant to follow.
