September held lots of exciting and wonderful things, such as letting the laundry pile up on our couch. Let this be an example of what our humble home-apartment has looked like ever since I began student teaching:
I also received a copy last week of the newly published children's book that I helped to edit last semester (!!!):
To top it all off, yet ANOTHER editing piece that I worked on last semester finally made it through the committees and ranks and will be published as an article in an academic journal! I'm not really that smart, I just really like telling people when they spell something wrong or use a comma too often I guess.
Student teaching has had its fair share of stressful moments. That is definitely for sure. I'm learning to embrace the stress and turn it into opportunities to give myself grace, receive grace from my Father, and willingly accept that I'm not perfect. And y'all, I LOVE WHAT I DO. Although I'm working on learning to love the late nights/early mornings, daily "failures," imperfections, outrageous kids who have serious issues, frustrating moments, and parents who don't care as much as I think they should, I love teaching my students each day and I am thrilled to watch them progress through the journey of a school year. I love it. Maybe I'm being too optimistic and naive, but it is incredible to get to this point in my collegiate journey and feel so in-touch with the gifts and abilities God has given me. If we're all uniquely crafted by our Maker to do certain things with excellence and passion, shouldn't we do it with gusto? In a world of people who are still trying to figure out "what to do" with their lives, I'm thankful for a season where I feel useful and completely at peace. I'm thankful that the Lord has cut out a path for me and shown it plainly. For this season, in this moment, I love doing what I do. I love being a wife to D and a teacher to 27 needy and tiny kids. I love being able to develop myself as a professional through writing, editing, and working with words. Waiting for all of that to happen was worth it. The wait was long and it was so often very hard, but this sweet season has been one worth waiting for.
If my junior-in-college self read this post written by another person, my junior-in-college self probably would have felt really bitter and angry. "Why can't I just be there? I'm so tired of the awful stuff that doesn't even matter. Let's just skip to student teaching. I am so tired of waiting and working and wailing over busy work and craziness. And I want a husband." That's what I'd say. But oh, junior-in-college self.... the wait really is worth it. It builds character and makes you realize how much you actually want it. And it helps you give a whole lot of worry and weariness and impatience over to King Jesus. So freshen up and bite the bullet, buddy. You WILL see fruit for your labor. And PS- student teaching & marriage have issues of their own, so let everything work out in its own time. Enjoy eating the same meal for days without worrying about your husband scarfing it all down.
...Someone remind me that I wrote this post one day when I'm fuming and frustrated about teaching all day on only 3 hours of sleep. Really.
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