September 24th of this year, I walked into my fourth school district in four years. I was hired by Gwinnett just the Friday previous and was headed to the benefits meeting.
The wait was very long. My goal, through disappointment and frustration in the summer months, was to refrain from complaining and simply ask for prayers. After all, how could I complain when I chose to walk away from my job? I still wonder if I was simply everyone's last choice, everyone's last option, but that has passed. My friends tried to remind me about my crazy certificate. It was hard to wipe away all the good feelings from interviews that amounted to vapor. But, in the end, God has blessed me where I am. Allow me to share.
This is another situation where I started late in the year - in stark contrast to last year, I did not immediately have students my first day - I had a whole week to prepare. I wasn't thrown in a classroom with no resources - no locking cabinets to put my belongings. I wasn't expected to figure everything out haphazardly on my own and be held accountable for mistakes I didn't even know I could be making. I felt welcome and valued as a professional for the first time since leaving college.
In taking the time to let God do His work in searching out my heart, I find that it was the best time to go back to work. I have not felt anxious this year - until I was called into the principal's office and complimented in front of school leadership. While I am thankful, being so new, I want my visibility to be lower, haha. I am thankful, however, that God has given me favor again. I'm praying that this would be an excellent year for me in all the goals I have set. There is still so much to do, but God has been encouraging me, and I am so thankful for His hand on my life, despite so much messiness.
Right now, I am looking for an apartment - praying about one really. It's more expensive, but it would be good to move. I pray here and there about marriage and what the Lord's plans are for me, but it's only sporadically on the radar - a good or bad thing, I don't really know. I think my exposure to so many married people my age, especially in my church, less so in my friendships, makes my awareness about being single more acute. Maybe if I were where more singles were, I wouldn't put pressure on myself (or at least feel quite the fifteenth wheel or sore thumb). So there's that. For the most part, things are feeling very positive and I'm simply thankful to God for the opportunity of success, favor, and rest. Having lived in such a hard place, I'm enjoying my year as a teacher.
