Some prayer and an epiphany

Today I went to church.

I haven't been inside of a church for a service of any kind (aside from my best friend's wedding) in a few years. It hasn't been because I don't want to go to church. Many weekends I find myself recovering from the week and I just can't seem to get myself up and going. I've also been struggling with which church to attend. My home church feels cold. Can't explain it...just does.

Today, though, I had the opportunity to meet with students, colleagues, and community members, at a church for a service to pray for a student (one of mine) who has suffered some severe brain trauma.

I cannot describe how it made me feel to see some of my students help lead the service. I also cannot describe what it meant to pray, sing, and worship God with my students.

Even though it was an occasion that produced more than one lump in my throat and was a time to focus on prayer for my student's healing, I left with a lot to ponder as I drove home. One thing I realized is how innocent and fragile my kids are. In school, they exude an energy of invincibility, full of possibility. Today, in church, I was reminded of how they are looking for answers, guidance, and assurance.

I also realized how much teaching this particular age group is what I am meant to do. This service actually snapped me out of the burned-out funk I've been in lately. It made me realize how much I really love teaching and interacting with kids, especially watching them grow into adults.

Most important to me, today, is that my students got a chance to see some teachers pray and worship with them. What these kids don't know is that I often pray for them during class. I pray for them when I see them in the hall when it strikes me that a student I've passed might need prayer.

Maybe that is why I am a teacher.

Imagine if more people of faith decided that education was a mission field and not a minefield. It is a chance to quietly serve without having to be in anyone's face about my faith. I just pray.

I remember praying for a kid my first year of teaching (quite often during the time I had him). He had everything going for him, but he was really arrogant and quite the unctuous kind of guy; he was not liked/respected by most teachers. I prayed that he'd come to know God and serve Him...I prayed for a radical change in this young man's life. While at college, he gave his life to God and now intends on going to seminary.

All of this combined makes me glad that I went to church, today.