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Some people believe Christmas is the most hectic time of the year. Not me. The most chaotic, unhinged time of the year has to be the end of April and the beginning of May. State testing, class trips, school programs, semester exams, students with a sudden interest in their grades, parents hoping their children will move on to the next grade or graduate... All these elements combine to form an almost irrepressible explosion, that I, the teacher, feel the need to control. I don't want the shrapnel of crushed hopes, let downs, or disappointment recklessly flying around my workplace, so I smile and pretend that all is well in the world of education. I will do my best to muffle out the negative and control my environment as I manhandle the ticking time bomb that is the last few weeks of school.
At each school year's end, there is a raging, new surprise awaiting. No matter how much I plan and prepare... Boom! It's there. Sometimes the blast is mightier than the year before and sometimes it's just a dismal flareup. I often feel the need to retreat, but then I remember: I love what I do; and most importantly, I don't have to feel in control, because God's got this.
God is in control - in any circumstance. Big. Small. One day. Years. It doesn't matter: God is in control. I just need relinquish whatever control I'm holding onto. He doesn't need my help. If I want to take my problems and retreat, that's fine as long as I know God is my refuge (and He may tell me to get back up and face the problem).
The hectic times are inevitable, but so is God's ability to handle every circumstance in our life. He's got this!
"You are my refuge, my fortress, and my God in whom I trust." Psalm 91:2
"Now to him that is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us..." Ephesians 3:20
