Consider it pure joy…

Man, these last few weeks have been hard. As an administrator, teacher, or any kind of leader for that matter, have you ever been put in the situation of having to deal with something seemingly impossible to have a good attitude about? I will tell you, this last month in our world has greatly shifted from having “everything under control” to not knowing what day of the week it is. We have found ourselves in situations that are well beyond our control and to be quite frank, beyond our realm of expertise. To say we have grown bitter and burned out in lightning speed fashion would be an understatement. 

When these moments occur, we find ourselves as leaders questioning a few things: 

First, how are we going to fix this? We know we have a culture and campus to protect. When objects are being thrown at our heads and teachers’ classrooms are being destroyed, the time between dodging shoes and catching bulletin boards as they are being pulled off the wall is spent trying to find a non-existent solution at a rapid pace. We know you have been there. 

Second, how are we going to keep this kiddo safe, and even moreso, how are we going to keep the other students safe? In the middle of chaos, it is our job to stand up and protect those that are victims to the situation at hand, whether it’s a literal victim, or a victim of a disruption to the learning environment.

And finally, how are the teachers going to know that we are trying to take care of the campus, when they don’t know what’s going on and haven’t seen us in a week, or three? When stuck in a single classroom all day, it is extremely difficult to identify the pulse of the campus or deal with more minor issues like the bathrooms not being cleaned, or girl drama - both STILL VERY BIG ISSUES, don’t hear us say otherwise, but when it comes to people being physically hurt, that has to take precedence in the moment. 

We would be lying if we said that the thoughts of “this isn’t sustainable” and “I wonder how much - insert any job other than this - makes” didn’t cross our mind a time or two.

And then the weekends hit.

We have time to sit and focus on how things can be changed for the moment - even if it's only us that does the changing. The weekends have provided a much needed time for self-reflection and rest to prepare for the week ahead. Sidenote - We would encourage you (and ourselves) to step away from work for at least a day and focus on you, your family, and relationships that often get put to the side during the work week. 

Laura speaking - This particular weekend - it has hit me hard how much my own attitude impacts my health, my family, and my job. My dad sent me a text - and while many texts are often filled with memes, GIFs, and youtube videos of random family bands, this one was EXACTLY what I needed to hear. And maybe you need to hear it too:

“Your job is sustainable. You can do it too! You are needed. You can think of new and better ways to tackle the difficulties at hand. I know you can. Remember this too - the Lord cannot change anything if his servants are not willing to endure conflict. There must be someone willing to walk with him through difficult situations if he is going to make positive changes in the present. When you confront wrong, you become the open door where he may step in and speak the truth.” 

“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, lacking nothing.” James 1:2-4

So, do we have the answers to all of these questions? Nope. And trust me, once we find something that works, we will share in the knowledge. Will we continue to worry that our teachers and students will question our dedication to their success because they don’t always see us? Absolutely. However, one thing I plan on bringing to the table this week, positivity brought on by peace. Peace that He has my back. Peace that He is in control. Peace that He WILL sustain me. 

We will walk in positivity this week. Instead of pointing out everything that’s wrong, we will CHOOSE to focus on the things that are right. If no one hears about the positive work they are bringing to the table, WE will CHOOSE to call it out.

Who knows, maybe we'll start some music and get our dodging and juking moving to the beat….gotta start somehow! Just “Stayin’ Alive” am I right?!