Well friends, it has been a bit since I have posted on the old blog. That makes me sad so it is time to fix that. I have a lot of crazy good things going on in the life that I would love to share about. Mainly that God is the man. He is simply incredible and there really is no other way to spin it.
I just finished up my first year as a teacher, and no, I did not get fired. My first year was absolutely insane. First, I had no clue what I was getting into when I accepted a Multiple Disability/Medically Fragile assignment. I was terrified at first that I would hurt the students or break them. But I quickly learned that yes they do have significant special needs and medical needs, but they are just like you and me. As the year went on I loved my job more and more. Each day I got to see some pretty incredible young men and women live their lives to the full.
The year did present some very difficult situations. One of my fellow teachers and a mentor to me for the first couple months of the school year suddenly passed away. That was tough, not only for the staff but for our students. Our students do not really understand death but they did understand that Mrs. Marrianne was no longer with us. But I will say that even though I only taught with her for a couple of months, she taught me the most important lesson I can ever learn as a teacher. She taught me to approach our students with joy and love. To not let the fear of their death or health hold us back, but to instead embrace every moment we have with our students. And that, I will never forget.
I tell you what, there is just something inspiring about how my students live. They have been dealt a very rough set of cards but yet you can not tell that by watching them. The joy they take in the smallest of things is inspiring. When Christ tells us to have a child like faith, I see that faith in my students. When they are happy we know, when they are angry we know. They know that their survival is dependent on others and they live in a way that shows that. To me that is a great example of how I need to live. My life is ultimately in God's hands, he sent his son so that I may have life. But yet I do not live in that way. My students reminded me of that each and everyday.
Today I started a home instruction case with Little D who is in our primary class. Now, if I had favorites he would be one of them. I often sneaked down to his classroom on my planning breaks to visit him. His smile and joy is so infectious. When I walked into his house today he kind of gave me a look that said "What is a teacher doing in my house!?" But within a few minutes he was laughing and staring at me with those huge eyes of his. He was pretty much saying, "here I am Mr. Chris, lets have a good time". To me, that is life! That is life!
I just got back from Young Life Camp with my dudes from Bowsher HS. There were about 500 HS kids at this camp for the week. And what I got to witness with my guys and with the other campers was life being lived out how it was meant to be lived. Just as my students display a joy in their lives, these high school kids were living with a joy that you do not always see.
I guess to wrap things up here I will say this, live life with a child like joy and faith. I am blessed to get to witness that lifestyle because of my job and role as a Young Life Leader. But really, I do not often live how my my students do. But that is how Christ intended us to live!
I could go on and on about the crazy stuff God is doing in my life. But I will stop here and save more for a future post. I love y'all.
Opher
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