Stretched

This school year I accepted a challenge to work with some students whose English skills are much lower than my usual group. It wasn’t what I thought it would be and I find myself being stretched. The class has students from different language backgrounds which poses a challenge all by itself. This is not my usual ESOL class where adult students focus on learning English – that’s my comfort zone. These young babies [teens] need content – Math, Social Studies, Language Arts, and Science to prepare them to obtain a high school diploma. Imagine teaching Pythagorean Theorem, Chemical Equations and Post-9/11 Foreign Policy using gestures and google translator. It is nothing short of hilarious! They laugh at me – I laugh with them and we figure it out somehow. A colleague recommended a site called ‘Nice Translator’ – my saving grace this week. It allows me to give instructions and have it translated in many different languages simultaneously. After a 3-hour class ( yes 3 hours!) I am beyond spent. I am confident that as their English skills improve, we’ll see great results. I am a believer and I believe!

This is the first time since the 2020 school year that I have felt so challenged . 2020-2022 drew talents and abilities out of me I didn’t even know existed. There was the call to rise to another level and I think I responded with grace and courage. Here I am again. One wonders what lies beyond this new assignment. Who will I become? What else lies within me? I look at these tender lives and recognize that I have been blessed with a special cargo. I am part of their first introduction to the learning experience in this new culture. Will I make our school proud? With all the flaws in our education system, I challenge myself to be part of the solution. They will find a great teacher in me- I speak that with conviction. I choose to honor the God who gifted me with this ability. I will draw from Him the wisdom I need to navigate these unchartered waters. I don’t ask for ‘a task equal to my strength, I ask for strength equal to the task I have been called to.’

Hello Me

This is a new place
One never visited
So I call for added strength
I find the hidden gems in me
Those waiting to be called out
Lying dormant
Waiting to be awakened
Camouflaged by fear and doubt
On the other side of this journey
A new me awaits
A better me awaits
So I challenge the I in me
Rise to the call
You have been divinely enabled for the task
Prepared for this
Chosen for this moment
Ready for this- equal to this charge Because of He who lives within me This is your day -your time to shine Rise with courage and boldness

For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us].

Ephesians 2:10 AMP