A Lesson for the Teacher
Author: Breanna Adkins
Convicted, I sat in my empty classroom after a long day. “God, do I act like my second graders?”
This prayer finally reached my lips after God spoke to my heart through my interactions with my students during the day. It had been one of those days. Those days that make you wonder if you are really meant to be a teacher. The days when sitting in a silent office filing papers sounds more appealing than teaching a room full of rambunctious children.
I thought back to the number of times I had to repeat directions. The number of times I had to remind my students to be kind to one another. The number of times I was frustrated at my students for not forgiving small misunderstandings with one another.
Suddenly, it made sense why God refers to us as His children so often in His Word. How many times throughout my life, or even a day, does God look down at me and think, “If only she were more kind to others,” or “Why can she not forgive, when I have forgiven her of so much?” God has used my students and their shortcomings to convict me for the adult version of the same sins I point out to my students. As teachers, we see sinful behaviors on a regular basis. As we grow older, we often learn to mask our sins to make them more acceptable to others. They are still there, just hidden more efficiently. Instead of boldface lies, they become little white lies. Instead of being angry and yelling at a coworker, we talk about them behind their backs. In many ways, we are not much different than our students.
God has used my relationship with my students to show me how my actions must appear to Him. As my heavenly Father, He is always loving and kind. No matter how many times He must whisper, “Use kindness” or “Listen before you speak” to my heart, He still loves me. He still forgives me. He still loves me as His child.
John 1:12 (MEV)- “Yet to all who received Him, He gave the power to become sons of God, to those who believed in His name.”
Breanna Adkins is a second grade teacher and a Master’s of Special Student at Colorado Christian University and will graduate in May 2018.