“Ms. Colleen, who wears these?” Ben asked as he grabbed the brown monk cloak he was wearing for our Halloween dress up day. “Catholic monks.” Ben dressed up in his brown cloak and painted his face like a ghost for the day…he really did look freaky! By the time he got to my half hour class, he had washed his face but still had remnants of the black make-up around his eyes which gave him an eerie evil look. “Martin Luther also wore a cloak like that…have you guys ever heard of the reformation?” Heads shook. I paused…we needed to go over our homework for respiration as I was giving a test in a couple of days and I only had a half hour with these 4 grade 10’s…oh well! Can’t pass up this teachable moment!
I went over Martin Luther and his encounter with God through Romans and Ben asked questions about how Catholicism was different than what I believed, why his thesis changed peoples lived, if we share the same God, and if what Luther wrote changed my life. The other guys checked in and out…they like it when Ben asks questions too because more often than not we go on a rabbit trail! Yeah, Im totally one of those teachers! We ended with no profound changes but another chance at sharing about how God’s Word can be a catalyst to change our lives! It was great!
In the midst of these bright moments of the day, I was feeling overwhelmed at being back this week, I must admit! I had to switch my mentality back to teaching, kids, and getting over jet lag. I realized I had a lot of tests and work to do and little time to complete it. Do you ever get that sick feeling in your stomach when you realize you might not get everything done on time? Do I put of work, meeting people, running? I struggled with balancing my time with people. How do I share my time with people without neglecting my work? How do I choose who to spend time with when I want to spend time with everyone? I think that that will be something I work on for the rest of my life!
Other blessings came this week in the form of re-telling my vacation and future hopes, times with Barrett on the phone and email (insert big cheesy grin), and another BQ at the Hanson’s yesterday with burgers, apple pie, and cookies that are so good they should be illegal. =0)
Im so thankful that each day has a joy even if there is pain, sadness, or just plain tiredness. Im so thankful for friends, students, and family that add color to my life. Im so thankful that no matter where I am I can serve God and try to be an encouragement to others. Life amazes me!