This year, I have have transitioned into a new stage of my life as I continue to juggle my responsibilities of motherhood and I have now returned to teaching full time. I teach high school students-teenagers-the NEXTgeneration (always a scary thought) and my re-entry into the high school world has caused a few eye opening moments.
As August rolled into September, my excitement and anxiety grew. I was ready to get back into the classroom and do what I love to do, but I knew it would be a time of transitions too. I thought that I would struggle this year with trying to continue with my duties as a mother and hold down a very challenging job. I thought I might struggle with the content of my classes, since I'm teaching things I've never taught before (as college level courses too!). I thought I might be drained by the demanding schedule....but I never thought I might be challenged spiritually.
I don't know why, but I kind of forgot that I was walking into a very dark place when I opened the doors to our high school and walked down the crowded hallways. This week, as I side stepped around girls flirting with boys and dodged guys twice my size goofing off, I suddenly realized that many students in that busy hallway were lost children of God. It was the darkest hallway I've walked down in a long time. I saw kids grasping for life in trite relationships, in drugs and alcohol, in popularity and in the accolades of success.
They act like they know it all and they've got it all together, but they are walking around in darkness. I don't think adults are much different and if we opened our eyes, I bet all of us could think of a dark place where God has asked us to shine. 
It's so easy to get caught up in the daily routines of our jobs that we forget our eternal purpose. Yes, it's my job to grade math papers and it's my job to effectively prepare educational lessons and it's my job to train students to reach high expectations, but it's my duty to be a light in each of those jobs. It's my calling to be a light in this dark place; this place where God has brought me.
So, what's your dark place? Is it your neighborhood, your children's school, your grocery store, or your workplace? I pray that you and I will shine brightly with God's love and grace in these dark places, that our lights will elluminate the darkness and lead the way to our Savior.
I'm sharing today at Laced with Grace if you'd like to join me.
Comments
-Heather
During my own dark teenage years, one of my teachers was fervently praying for her students (including me), and her love, commitment, kindness and faith in Christ Jesus impacted us all.
After I graduated and she was more free to express her faith, she recommended several student ministries on the college campus that I attended (I wouldn't have known to look for them on my own). I ended up visiting her church on several occasions. So we had the joy of realizing that her faithfulness to be a light for Christ wove into my own spiritual journey.
To have my teacher be my sister in Christ is a beautiful thing. I will be watching your blog, and in a few years, I'll bet you'll be telling similar stories!