It took a moment like today to remind me why I really enjoyed teaching back in the states. Don’t get me wrong, the Lord placed me exactly where I am supposed to be. Sometimes, I just miss the things I left behind. And that’s totally okay.
Do I miss the paperwork. No. Do I miss grading and planning lessons every single day of my life. Heck no. But I do miss the relationships I built with my students during student teaching. Even though they were sometimes knuckleheads who didn’t do their work and still asked why they failed tests, spending time and learning about them brought me so much joy.
Part of ministry this month is helping plan and facilitating youth group at the Baptist church in Bulawayo. We have created games, acted out skits, and lead small group discussions. I honestly can’t wait until Fridays because I get to hang out with my people. Some of you may groan at the idea of hanging out with a room full of 13-18 year olds, but this is where I thrive.
As a teacher I knew right off the bat that in order to make mathematics sound a teensy bit fun, I had to show my passion and act a little crazy. I flailed my arms, danced around the room, and cracked one too many jokes. I can literally hear the traditional teacher gasping in horror. Teens want things to be fun and relatable. If it means that I have to lose a tiny bit of dignity for Johnny to complete the problem set, I’m going to do it.
Crazy thing is, teens are the same around the world. Walking into that room, I knew that I was going to have to be undignified. Today, that meant cracking an egg on my head. We wanted the teens to try something daring to illustrate that sharing our testimonies is a pretty courageous thing we can do. My team hard boiled half of a dozen of eggs and left the remaining raw. Each volunteer picked an egg to crack on their head. Of course we were short one volunteer. Being the person that I am, I volunteered. Guys, the moment I picked up that egg, I knew it was raw. I knew. When Averi counted us down, I still followed through and cracked that sucker on my head. Did I have to? No, but the kids had so much fun and learned that sharing our testimonies is worth the risk.
Go ahead, laugh. I surely did. But I definitely looked ridiculous with egg dried in my hair as I was leading our small group.
The Lord wants us to shed the layers of safety we have wrapped ourselves in so that others may see His glory. I mean, King David danced around naked. If that’s not showing glory, I don’t know what is. David was willing to become even more undignified than even that if it meant that people would understand how truly great and miraculous our God is.
Today, I cracked an egg. I may have looked uncool to some, but others learned more about what God calls us to do. I would say that’s worth it. As the Lord calls me deeper into His plan, I know that I am going to have to become even more undignified than this. So join me! Dance, sing, shout, run, or do whatever the Lord leads you to do. It’s all for His glory.
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