I Will Walk Among You
By Donald Clark
“I will walk among you and be your God and you will be my people…I threw off your heavy load. I helped you walk with your heads held high.” (Leviticus 26:12-13)
Dear Jesus,
How humbling it is to read this passage. You, the great I AM, humble Yourself and walk with me. You also walk among the students I serve, though many do not see, hear, feel, or follow You. Let me look through your eyes so I can see your plans, hope and future for them. Let me see how You are working in their lives. I know the plans I have for them and the plans the school, district and the state has for them, but I want to know Your plans. I want to assist You in Your work.
Great are the burdens of so many students. Many of their heads are either downcast in defeat or puffed up with rebellion. So many are lost in the idolatry of self, peers, knowledge and materialism. Remove the heavy loads and chains which keep their hearts and minds turned from You. Jesus, keep me walking among the students You have asked me to serve. Don’t let me hide behind my desk, programs, technology and discipline plans. Keep me moving from student to student so they know I am readily available to assist them. Let them know that I care enough about them to be physically close to them as You are so spiritually close to me.
Guide me and let me enter into their worlds to discover their interests, strengths, weaknesses, problems and joys. Like You, let me grow into being more than a “teacher.” Let me learn to call them “friends.” Banish and cast out any pride in me that causes me to be aloof and perceive myself as superior to or above them. Ever remind me that You were so humble as to wash Your students’ feet. Give me this same humble servant spirit as I walk among those You have called me to serve. Let me be Your heart, hands and feet in their lives and impart to them Your standards of grace, compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love, wisdom and joy — all which are so important yet cannot be found in any school, district and state curriculum guides.
Lord, You walk among the staff members of this school. Let me also see them through Your eyes and not remain aloof from them. Show me Your expectations, hope and future for them as well, especially those that seem heavily burdened, discouraged, or challenged in some way. Before and after school, get me out of my classroom. Remind me to walk around to greet and talk with other staff members. Don’t let me stay buried in my room or allow me to interact only with my grade level or academic team. Help me make new friends and offer assistance when needed.
Jesus, thank You for walking with me and among the students and staff here at this school. When I begin to feel heavily burdened and downcast, remind me to lift up my head, look into Your eyes, and feel Your hands on my shoulders. Remind me that I am never alone and can cast my cares on You. When I need help, remind me to raise my hand, first to You, and wait for you to call on and come to me.
Love Always,
Your Student Teacher
“And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8)
GETTING REAL: Greet your students each day at the classroom door with a smile, handshake or side hug. Continually move around all areas of the classroom while teaching. Be available to students before and after class and school in order to listen, tutor, etc. Once a week eat in the cafeteria with students. Spend time with co-workers. Get to know them and grow relationships. Help ease the burdens of students and staff as the Lord leads.
© Donald Clark 2021 from Simple Wisdom for a Teacher’s Heart
Donald Clark is a thirty-three-year public educator of special needs students. He is the founder of the CEAI Houston Area Network and has been its Director for over twenty years. He has received the Texas Lifetime Achievement Award from the HEB Excellence in Education program and has received a state congressional commendation for his work with youth and educators. He has written numerous collections of educator devotionals such as Teacher Take Courage!, The Carpenter’s Classroom and Get Off the Bus. He has been published in the Teachers of Vision magazine and his work featured in Around the Word in 180 Days. He recently launched a new book, Peemail–Pet’s Healing Power, which is available on Amazon.