Still Ringing True

I was just doing some research regarding setting up my classroom for next year (anyone out there familiar with flexible seating?)... and somehow rather than connecting me with a middle school blog, I ended up on my own blog.

So I read it - or at least my latest post (which was a year ago).  And wow.  So much has happened!  And yet so much of that blog post still rings true today.

Without attempting in one post to review a whole year, the 2016-2017 academic year is over.  I had other interviews last summer and was hired right before school started as the 7th & 8th grade classroom teacher for a private Christian school 30 miles south of where we live. There wasn't much time to get my feet under me before school began, but with a great administrator and co-workers, all went well.   It was a great fit, and a full and satisfying year, yet I'm thankful for the summer break.

Teaching all the core subjects, with little planning time ahead of the school year, was a challenge.  I enjoyed it, but there is much I can and will do differently next year.  The transition of me going back to work full-time, and at a distance from home, required adjustment from and for everyone in the family.  There was a lot going on personally as well, with my parents settling in, Patience manoeuvring through her senior year and college decisions, everyone getting sick, Andante's theatrical involvement, Vivace's sports injuries, Constance's academic ambitions, and more.  My dad passed away suddenly and unexpectedly (though peacefully) in January, and there wasn't much spare time or energy with which to handle that emotionally or practically - but of course God provided what we needed.  Frankly, however, it was a hard year.

Last summer was a time of transition, of regrouping, of reflecting on the prior year, and of forward-planning without knowing quite what I'd be doing in the fall.  This summer will also be a time of regrouping, reflecting, and forward planning.  There are still tasks at home to complete, boxes to be gone through, baseball games to attend, taxes and finances to work on - none of that has changed, though we are a year older and wiser and certainly more experienced.  I think I successfully stole second, and it was a wild whirlwind of a play.  This summer will hopefully offer a bit of a breather before moving on.  Indeed, the TS Elliot quote from a year ago still rings true:

And to make an end is to make a beginning.  

The end is where we start from.

This time, I know I'm going back to the middle school classroom I left a few weeks ago.  Taking what I learned and accomplished last year, I can move forward with more confidence as well as more time to plan.  I'm already ahead of where I began last year! And the Lord will guide and direct, as he always has and always does.  Proverbs 16:9 states:

The mind of man plans his way, 

But the Lord directs his steps."  

I'm thankful indeed that this is true and that I can trust him every step of the way.