It’s been a couple of weeks since we posted something in the inspirational vein, so this week we want to encourage you to remember that when life is hard, you don’t have to do it alone. Since the “voices” on this site are best friends and teachers from different racial/cultural backgrounds who are not just authors, but Christians, we felt it was time we encouraged you with a Word from above.

Sometimes it seems that life is very difficult without adding to it the daily challenges of five or more classes with a total of over 100 students to inspire and teach, or 25+ elementary-aged munchkins needing constant attention. Right now I am in the retirement stage of life, busy with things I choose to do. My contemporaries are mostly free from child-rearing and are enjoying grandchildren instead. But the problems and heartache can still come – sometimes from out of nowhere. For example, one couple from my church has repeatedly asked for prayers this past week for their grown son who was involved in a very serious accident. They are spending countless hours by his hospital bedside, not knowing what the outcome will be. Several months ago, another retired couple lost their grandson to a ATV accident and had the difficult task of consoling their child over the loss of their own grandchild. A member of my family is watching and supporting her husband as he battles a serious cancer, hoping and praying that he defeats this disease and is able to watch their daughter grow into adulthood. As the title of this blog says, sometimes life is just hard.

As a Christian, I want you to know that God loves you and will help through the rough spots of life. I can personally attest to this because my husband and I lost our youngest son in 1999. Instead of losing my sanity and my faith, I was able to hold onto the teachings of the Bible and rely on my Heavenly Father to comfort me in my loss. Of course I asked “why,” but my prayers also asked for strength and courage to put one foot in front of the other while waiting for my emotional healing to come. The prayers of many others uplifted me through the days, weeks, and months following this personal tragedy, as I continued to teach and be there for other people’s children. My encouragement for you is to trust God to help you through the most difficult circumstances in life. He is just a prayer away. I found a recent post on Facebook by one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado, that perfectly illustrates what I’m trying to say: “Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the One who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do make a difference.”

Another wonderful example for those of you who enjoy music videos is Colton Dixon’s “Through All of It.” Max, Colton, and I want to encourage you today with the truth that God is there for you when you need him.

May God bless you in the good times and the bad.

Sue – Voice II

Talk about hardships! Right now the doctors have told my family that my Mom is soon to die. She suffers from Parkinson’s Disease and her heart is very weak. Regardless, she told my oldest brother, who is also my family’s pastor and leader, “When God calls for me, I am ready to answer.” This gives me great joy and peace because God has the final say in her timetable and the “joy of the Lord is my strength” (Nehemiah 8:10)

People may look at you and never realize the weight of the struggles you are carrying. As Christians, we know we have to “cast our cares upon Him” (I Peter 5:7), but this is not always easy to do. The reality in our lives is that we will have trouble here, and if we don’t rely on God to help us through bad times, we will suffer even more. Recently, October 1, was a normal day for families in Roseburg, Oregon. It quickly turned into a tragic day when a shooter killed and injured many at Umpqua Community College. My hope is that those families affected will turn to Him for help and comfort.

Everyday we look at each other and don’t realize the struggle/story behind that face. Through it all we must continue to trust in Jesus, for that is the best thing we can do. “It is still well with my soul,” and I will continue to lift Him in praise in all circumstances.

Deidre – Voice I

Life happens to teachers, just like everyone else. In one of the last chapters of our book, I relate some emotional and physical challenges I experienced over a two-year period while I was still teaching. Regardless of what was happening in my life, I was still expected to open my classroom door every day and teach my classes with enthusiasm and creativity. Some days it was a welcome distraction to interact with and teach my students, but on others, it was very difficult to maintain a professional demeanor. During the days when life has thrown you a curve ball, you have to reach deep down and pull up an extra dose of patience to survive.

It’s amazing to realize that students, parents, and large segments of society really don’t understand that teachers have personal lives that can sometimes be very draining. The stresses that come from outside the classroom can be difficult to put aside as you try to deal with other people’s children in a professional and caring manner. I always gave it my best, but some days it was difficult. I’ll let Deidre continue with some examples.

Sue – Voice II

Students oftentimes don’t realize that teachers are people, just like their parents or themselves. I remember telling one class to remain quiet while I stepped out for a restroom break. They looked at me in shock and disbelief as I added, “Yes I do that too.” The quietness was interrupted by infectious laughter! Once they were quiet again, I dashed out quickly and thought how nice it would be to be able to take a break whenever I wanted. It seemed I was always in a rush because one wrong word or tossed pencil when I was not in the classroom could result in a catastrophe, and I would be at fault for not being there while taking care of a basic need. This is the life we have chosen to lead as teachers, but many do not realize it. A bathroom break is a luxury for a teacher – something many people in other careers just take for granted.

Teachers get hungry, just like you. Thirty minutes may sound like a sufficient amount of time, but when you factor in walking your class to and from the lunchroom (five minutes each way), getting your lunch, running a few extra copies, returning a parent’s phone call, etc., that lunch time is gone and ends up being a snack. You are really never off the clock in the teaching profession. These types of things add up to a long, exhausting day.

Teachers get sick just like you, are divorced or have marital problems just like you, grieve lost family members and suffer pain in their bodies while still having to be in that classroom, on the front lines for their students. Many people are quick to criticize teachers, never understanding that teaching is one of those professions where personal needs have to take a “back seat” to others every day. To our fellow teachers, we understand your situation and hope that others will try to “get it” too.

Deidre – Voice I

OK, teachers, here’s the scenario: you are hired to teach in a new school location which houses students in Kindergarten through grade 12. Your certification is for multiple subjects in grades 7 – 12. All of your school belongings have been moved to your new room, its walls decorated with new, colorful posters, and the first week’s lesson plans are written and placed on your desk. All that remains is for you to meet your students.

After day #1 is finally completed and you realize that your early morning excitement has now turned into early evening exhaustion, you also contemplate that this has been a good day. Everything went very well for your Block A classes. Hopefully, this should be a good year if the Block B students that you will meet tomorrow are as cooperative and well-behaved as your students were today.

Up and off on day #2, you have barely begun to prepare for your students, when you realize that the youngsters entering your class are just that – young, very young – they are Kindergarteners! No one has mentioned to you that you would be teaching introductory computer skills to little ones. Your room is not prepared for students that size, you are not certified to teach that age, and your experience is with older students. You might be teaching about computers, but in reality, nothing about this situation computes! Why weren’t you told about this class before school began, or even when you interviewed for this position? Talk about going from the “sublime to the ridiculous!” You need your job and you love to teach, but something about this just isn’t right.

Have you ever heard of a situation like this? What would you do if this happened to you? Do you believe all things happen for a reason? I wonder how many similar events have “surprised” teachers at the start of this new school year? Unexpected challenges for new and experienced teachers are one of the topics Deidre and I discuss in our book. Sometimes the hurdles placed before you by other adults in the building are much more difficult to overcome than anything the students bring into your classroom. What do you think? Please share with us.

Sue – Voice II

I can remember as a new teacher being overwhelmed with three subject preparations using nine different textbooks. Added to that, no one told me that I was expected to be the cheerleader advisor as well. That entailed daily practices and attending each home and away game, which resulted in long days and long nights, sometimes ending at 10:30 pm or later. I got home exhausted, only to have to make final preparations for the next day’s classes. Talk about being surprised!

Each year new teachers experience being overwhelmed by additional responsibilities they didn’t expect with little to no support from administration or veteran teachers who may also be overloaded. Nothing in your college curriculum or student teacher experiences can prepare you for this professional reality. No one can really help you through it, but with time and experience you learn how to deal with all the “extras.” School is an environment that requires teachers to “wear many hats” every day. The load doesn’t diminish, but your ability to make it work does improve. Don’t allow the extras to discourage you or drive you away from your first purpose: the students and the classroom. You will improve with time, and that’s why we’re here to encourage you!

Deidre – Voice I

In the second chapter of our book, Deidre and I reminisce about how and why we entered the teaching profession. She was a young twenty-something when she began, but I was an experienced-looking older novice who was given remedial eighth-graders my first year in the classroom. Saying that I learned more from my “on-the-job” training than from any college class I took is a definite understatement!

Why are you in the education profession? Is it something you “fell into” as Deidre originally did, or was it always your plan/dream to become a teacher? One of the reasons we wrote our book and have begun this blog is to support the educators who are currently working “in the trenches” in our public, private, and homeschool classrooms. We want to hear from you personally so we can discuss the experiences that motivate and keep you going as an educator, and the challenges that threaten to drive you away. As we summarized in Chapter II, “You are involved in the second most influential career in the world. After parenthood, teachers affect the future in powerful ways.” You are a valuable asset in the classroom – we don’t want to lose you!

Sue – Voice II

Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that God has the ultimate plan for our lives. Perhaps teaching is God’s plan for you, but you are not sure of it right now as you stand before young people each day. At twenty-one, I could not fully understand yet that God had designed and destined me to teach until I began to fully accept that God really did have the plan for my life. I stopped trying to create my own plan and learned how to follow Him. I now know that I did not just “fall” into teaching, but discovered as I committed my ways to Him, that it was God’s plan for me. If you find that teaching is what continues to open up to you no matter what you do or say, then you may need to cry “uncle,” and ask God to strengthen you. After all, when God told the Israelites that He had a good plan for their future, they were actually in bondage and captivity. Some educators may also feel that they are in bondage if they teach at a low performance, poor, or chaotic school. Let me encourage you to trust God with your life. Believe and open yourself up to the possibility that you were put right where you are because your gifts, talents, and creative ideas are needed in that very place. Trust in God means to fully let go of your reins and completely fall into His arms. Actually, they are always there whether you acknowledge it or not.  No matter how bad the fall looks, trust Him to catch you. Experience has taught me that He will.

Deidre – Voice I

I just returned from an amazing trip to Alaska. I thought West Virginia was God’s country . . . and then I saw parts of our 49th state. Everywhere we visited was magnificent in scope and showed evidence of God’s handiwork. From the flight across the country where I soared above the fluffy clouds to the breathing spouts of numerous whales I observed from the deck of our cruise ship, I was reminded of how small and insignificant I am in comparison to God’s creation. Later, as we waited in the crowded Seattle airport for our return flight, I considered that every single person scurrying by me with luggage, baby strollers, or carry-on bags was known by God. That same Creator of all I had seen on our trip knows them and He knows you. Now that is truly amazing!

Sue – Voice II

I agree with Sue that  West Virginia is truly God’s country, although I never thought so as a child. Growing up in NYC with The Statue of Liberty, The Twin Towers, and The Empire State Building as ordinary features just added to my narrow, youthful mind. At one time, my impression  of West Virginia was that it was just another “Hicksville USA.” Why in the world did John Denver ever write such a lovely song about such a wood-filled place, I would ask? That was until I had the opportunity to visit Sue and her family there, and found myself in awe while driving through those breath-taking mountains. When my husband and I actually drove through a mountain that God had allowed mere man to forge out of His spectacular creation, my heart pounded like a woman in love at first sight! I realized that my perception of West Virginia was all wrong. My previous judgment had remained in an infant state because I had made little effort to mature it until I was offered and took the opportunity to actually experience the Mountain State.

Question: How many times do we view others based on our own limited views, experiences, or knowledge of what we feel “we just know?”

Thought: God made us all unique and with a purpose. We must recognize that just like every place has the simple and the spectacular all mixed in together, so does each individual. We must seek to find the good – the spectacular – in everyone. Don’t ever limit God or His creation.

Deidre – Voice I