THE PLACE
September 4, 2020
Prayer: Today I want to thank You, Lord, for this time and this place, and for these students. Thank You for the energy and ideas You give me this day. May I bring honor to Your name. I pray in Jesus’ name.
Scripture: As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. John 17:18. NIV
Lunch boxes of every shape and size; backpacks; chalk dust; dusty books; broken equipment; outdated computers; upright pianos; kick balls; tiny chairs; coffee stains and leftover donut sugar; reams of paper; paperclips; bulletin boards; yellow buses. I confess. I love the place called school. This is the place we come back to every September. It is a place that produces baggy eyes, sleepless nights, tired joints, and exasperation. But, when you’re a teacher, it doesn’t matter. It’s “home.”
God has called you to this place. This is your mission station. What does He have for you to do here that no one else can do? Maybe you do not have an unusual gift for anything obvious. Maybe other teachers display better bulletin boards, master discipline problems, fun lesson plans, and class projects. But, God has prepared a job for you to do here—in this place.
Think about it. The children you teach will never be this age again. How will you help them to develop in their 7th year, or their 13th or their 17th? The children you teach will never be with this same group of children again. How can you use the group’s dynamics to help them grow? You will never be this age again, either. What can you do because of your youth, or your wisdom, that wouldn’t be possible at a different time in your life? The school where you teach may not have the same administrator another year, or the same budget offerings, or the same amount of building space. How can you use all of these benefits to the glory of God? Be thankful for the place God has sent you for this school year, and ask Him to help you “bloom where you are planted!”
Copyright Shirley Wilson. Email [email protected]
Shirley, thank you! I love your devotions! I am a music teacher and can relate to every one of your stories and heartaches! Thank you for uplifting me today!
This was so perfect today! As I walked into the school building (before I even read my devotional for the day), I thought to myself, “I love the peace i experience when I’m in this building.” I know God has called me to be in this specific place for His purpose.