Hope and Encouragement
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The Right Start
The morning rush exhausts me at times. My to do list is great as I prepare for my long commute to school. I need a proper breakfast to nourish me through the morning. Lunch needs to be prepared and my tea mug filled. I have papers to gather and school bags to fill and so on. It is very easy to get caught up in the flurry of activity and feel rushed and overwhelmed with all that needs doing before I head out the door. I cannot easily come home for things forgotten and so the pressure is on to be totally ready for my day. In times past, I…
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I Don’t Know
This list of things I don’t know at my new school seems to be growing rather than diminishing. It seems that every week there is something else I need to figure out, a new hurdle to master. At times it is downright exhausting trying to discern what I need to do so I can keep on top of things and keep my class functioning properly. Added to my disconcertion is that I often don’t know who to ask to help me. My coworkers are very gracious about answering my questions but sometimes I don’t get the right person for what I need. How am I supposed to ask questions…
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Consumed
Reports are due. Training needs completing. Students require assistance on many fronts. New school division strategies must be implemented. Meetings to attend. Massive emails to read. Students need counselling and observation. I could make a very long list about what needs to be done in my teaching week. Just when I think I have scaled one mountain, there are four more on the horizon. I find myself unable to keep up with everything and so what is my solution – long hours to try to fit it all in. It is now the weekend and the pile of work I brought home stares me in the face, taunting me…
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It’s Too Hard
“Mrs. Goerz, I just can’t do it. This is too hard for me.” I hear these words in my classroom from time to time and they concern me. While I challenge my students to do better and move ahead, I do not give them work that they are incapable of doing. I choose lessons and activities that meet the needs of my students, right where they are at. I provide support throughout the learning process and encouragement to complete the task. So where does the “it’s too hard” language come from? For many students it is simply not listening to instructions properly and they don’t know what to do. …
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The Power Source
As I enjoy a leisurely breakfast I contemplate recent changes. For almost two years now, I have been able to enjoy a relaxed morning as I have been teaching from home in an online school. No long commutes. No making bag lunches. No long hours of preparation. I merely got myself ready and headed to my home office. I no longer have the freedom to go out for walks whenever I need a break. I miss time spent in my garden and enjoying the flora and fauna of my lovely country home throughout the day. I no longer have those precious early morning weekday hours to study and write.…
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Why
It’s a favourite toddler question. Why do I need to go bed? Why do birds fly? Why are apples red? Our young ones can find more “why” questions than we can ever imagine. It is their way of making sense of the world. Their inquisitive minds absorb incredible amounts of information in those early years. We are built to want to know the why of things. In our quest to gain the knowledge of the world, we want to know how things work and why things are as they are. Our human minds want to make sense of things and understand their purpose. The urge to know why has led…
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An Undivided Heart
Back in the days when my twins were toddlers our life was hectic. One of my biggest challenges was keeping up with two active little people who each had minds of their own. Inevitably, we would go outside and each of them would take off after their own pursuits. My heart was divided – which twin do I chase after? It agonized me at times to think that, while I was getting one child to safety, the other might be getting into serious trouble. The conflict in my mind was great. I felt so much easier when I had the two of them inside, in a single safe confined location.…
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Thanksgiving
For me, this year has been a journey through many hills and valleys. Through it all I have been overwhelmed at God’s loving hand through each and every step. While I don’t understand all the God has allowed in my life, I am truly thankful for His grace and mercy that have seen me through and for His miraculous hand bringing about healing and restoration. It is a year where I can truly agree with Billy Graham’s words: “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.” While going through challenges this year I wondered if I would ever gain strength to get out of…
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Even Then
Covid came to my classroom this week. Unlike last year, our class is not required to quarantine. While I am fully vaccinated, I fear for my little ones. They are so vulnerable. My risk level rises also. It is hard walking into that classroom each day knowing that this disease is likely going to work its way through my students. I have many mixed emotions over it all. I feel anger over many things that I can’t control that affect my life – things like government decisions to open up everything this summer when it was inevitable that fall would see a fourth wave of this nasty virus. Or……
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The Baby Dress
As I put the finishing touches on an infant dress for my granddaughter, the tears overwhelm me. Each tiny stitch, made with love, draws out strong emotions. While I am excited to have a precious new child to love, my thoughts continue to veer into sadness. I cry out to God. “I don’t want to see my granddaughter in just this dress Lord, I want to see her in her wedding dress too. Will that ever happen?” The hurt and pain rush over me and it is hard to stop the flow of uncertainty and grief. When the biopsy shows difficult results, it is challenging to have hope. The devil…
