I am a short 2 days away from setting foot in my very first classroom. To say that the past 4 years flew by is an understatement, it went faster than I could have ever imagined. As a freshman starting a degree in elementary education, it felt like this time would never come, but it is here and faster than I ever thought it would be. At the beginning of this summer I looked at the beginning of school a little like it was imaginary but now the closer it gets, the more it is setting in and the more I am realizing about the adventure that I set off on in a few short days.
Getting to this point was not easy or the "normal" route but I have seen the Lord work so much in my life this summer and in the process of getting a job. This may be lengthy but it shows the goodness of the Lord and how He keeps His promises.
The classroom I will walk into on Monday morning wasn't the classroom I imagined myself in when I graduated. Before graduation I interviewed at a wonderful school and was under the impression that that is the school where I would start my career. After starting the hiring process there was a short time where the things that were supposed to be happening on the timeline weren't and I became a little concerned about my position at this particular school. Graduation came and went and I moved back home and eagerly started thinking about my future classroom, students, and career. However, the more time that passed the less I heard about confirming my hiring and signing my contract. I reached out to the necessary people and sitting on my front porch right at sundown (my favorite time of day) I learned that my position was no longer mine and I would have to start the job search over from square one. Being offered a position before graduation, in the field of education, is very rare and I was so looking forward to a stress free summer where looking for a job was the least of my worries- but obviously, that quickly became the very situation I found myself in. I was given no answers or reasons why.
I am usually a very low stress person and I am not easily bent out of shape when it comes to things I cannot control, but I must say that I started a little bit of a freakout. I had already told people about my job opportunity and people knew that is where I was supposed to be. I was a little embarrassed that when people asked I now had to explain myself and what happened without really having any sort of clue myself. I was frustrated and really didn't know what to do.
I watched the district website and sent countless emails but I was so discouraged that I really didn't feel like doing anything about my situation at all. I decided to email a principal in the area that I had talked to earlier in the year about an opening. I knew she had probably already filled the position but it would be worth a shot, why not, she might have something or know someone who did. Upon emailing that principal I got an email back almost instantly. She asked me to come in for an interview the next week.
Between emailing the principal and my interview date I was also contacted by a high school in the same area as the school I would be interviewing at to come in and talk about a softball coaching job. I have wanted to coach for as long as I have wanted to be a teacher and I always knew that it would be part of my career I was just not prepared for it to be so soon into my career. I actually went for both interviews on the same day. I went to the softball interview first and sat in the office waiting when the resource officer pretended to answer the phone and said, "Joe's Pool Hall, 8 ball speaking..." If you read my post about my Papa, you'll remember that told me how to answer the phone in this exact way. I actually smiled sitting there in the school office at the most perfect reminder of my Papa. I enjoyed speaking with the people at the high school and left the interview with them saying they would be in touch. I then went to the elementary school that is literally 7 minutes down the road. I sat in that office waiting area for about 10 minutes where I heard a little kid look up at his dad and say, "I'm gonna give you a knuckle sandwich." Another one of my Papa's favorite things to say to me and my little brother. At this point I actually looked at the ceiling and smiled because twice in one day was just too cool. If that wasn't a sign enough for me then I don't know what is. I haven't done very many interviews, but I have never felt more at home or comfortable around a group of people than I did at that school and I left feeling very hopeful.
I received two calls that afternoon, one from Welcome Elementary where I will be teaching 4th grade this coming year and one from Berea High School where I am the head softball coach. I went from no job to two jobs in a matter of twelve hours. I was so thankful and, if I'm honest, a little overwhelmed.
When my first job opportunity fell through I was upset because I thought that was the best thing that could have happened to me, a job before graduation at a school with an outstanding reputation. But, and there is always a but, the Lord had SO much more in store. My heart is with children that attend Title 1 schools, schools were the majority of the students are living in poverty. The school where I would have been was not Title 1 but Welcome Elementary is. My heart is also on a ball field with girls who I can build relationships with and make better through the game of softball. That door would not have been open at the beginning of this process either but me being at Welcome opened the door to be able to coach at Berea.
I am so thankful that the Lord closes doors and that He opens doors. At a time where I was very frustrated and discouraged, the Lord opened doors in my life that have put me in a position that I truly think will allow others to see more of Him than if I were anywhere else.
The Lord promises to do more than we could imagine (Eph. 3:20) and He promises to give us a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). I am seeing Him do both and I could not be more excited to see Him work for my good and for His glory.
The classroom I will walk into on Monday may not be the classroom I imagined myself in but I am certain and so thankful it is the classroom that I am supposed to be in.
As I start this journey, pray for me, my students, my players, that I will be a teacher that makes a difference and a coach that betters players not only as athletes but as people too.
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