Love the Process

Extra Nugget #3

It takes time.

I completed my first week of student teaching and still seem to be functional. I’ll take that as a small victory. I’ve been trying to come up with an eloquent and emotionally charged statement that could somehow sum up what my first week in a classroom full-time has taught me, but I keep coming back to the same thing: It takes time.

It takes time for those nervous/anxious butterflies in my stomach to settle into nothing but steady excitement.

It takes time to get ready in the morning due to actually having to put a decent effort forward in order to look professional.

It takes time to get used to waking up early enough to see the sunrise on my drive to work.

It takes time for 11-year-olds to set up a Math Journal. Probably too much time.

It takes time to truly see every child, even the difficult ones, as a gift.

It takes time for some kids to realize that it’s okay to speak in an audible voice around adults.

It takes time for others to understand that disrespect is never acceptable… be it toward their teachers, their peers, or themselves. Oh goodness, especially themselves.

It takes time for some students to grasp that the reason we push their limits is so they can discover that they have none.

It just takes time.

And you know what? It honestly excites me.  One of my favorite quotes (from a trainer on The Biggest Loser, of course) is, “Don’t fall in love with the result. Fall in love with the process.”  Yes. The process. Of course I haven’t been in the classroom long enough for many of the above listed items to come to fruition… but I’m confident they will.  It’s certainly going to be a process on all accounts.  I don’t expect to show up to school Monday morning and find that all my students have unearthed their intrinsic motivation to reach their highest potential. Shoot, I don’t even expect half of my kids to call me by the right name. But I do anticipate that I will see one of my shy kiddos smile.  I expect to witness an “Aha!” moment.  And I pray that I will take another step toward seeing every single child the same way my Jesus sees them: as helpless captives in need of His love.

It all takes time, but the process will be magnificent.  Just as every sunrise is a masterpiece of new beginnings, the moment a child grasps that they were created with purpose is truly something to behold.  I can’t begin to comprehend why, but this is what I’ve been called to.  As the Lord was shaping my heart, he crafted it to be burdened for His kids. And I cannot believe that I actually have the opportunity to spend 7 hours a day shining His love into the darkness of their realities.  That very idea overwhelms me, but my prayer is that I would be able to lay aside every ounce of myself and give everything I am to that purpose. I’m not there yet. No, not even close.  But one day I will be.

It just takes time.