End of Term

Any teacher will know that this time of year marks the end of a very long term. I for one, am in need of this Christmas holiday like never before…

The job I took on in September is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding posts I’ve ever had. There have been tears of both sadness and laughter. There has been what seemed like steps back in some individuals and also huge development in others.

But the end of term often doesn’t acknowledge the thrill and spills, the end of term is all about ‘survival mode’, DVDs and too much chocolate. (For me and the students.) The September dreams of inspiring the students and getting them to learn the art of not putting 'ain’t’ in the middle of a perfectly good essay no matter what, start to somewhat dim at the end of the fifteenth long week.

And let’s be honest, we can almost smell that finish line turkey…

I woke up this morning with all of these thoughts, as I contemplated which DVD my class would be sitting through today, and then, for whatever reason, this verse came to mind:

“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”(Galatians 6:9 ESV)

It really made me stop and think. Not only about my career, but also about life in all aspects. I wonder how many of us started the year with those ever made, often broken New Years resolutions? Most of January swapped the sofa and tv for the treadmill and exchanged cakes for carrots. But what about now? Some of the more motivated, disciplined among us might still be on our journey to a body ten pounds lighter, whereas others haven’t allowed their trainers to see the light of day since early February.

How often do you 'grow weary’? Tiring of doing 'the right thing’ in favour of doing what’s easiest. Life in general, not to mention life as a Christian can often get like this, vouching to wake up at 5am to pray before starting your day, only to last a week. Or starting January 1st planning to read the Bible in a year…for the third year in a row. It’s difficult. But this verse should serve as a little bit of encouragement. 'For in due season we will reap if we do not give up’. If you sow into the gym, you may reap a better body, if you sow into prayer and Bible study, you may reap a deeper relationship with God, if you sow to the lives of the students you teach, you may reap a more motivated & positive, happier class.

With regards to the latter, who doesn’t want to be inspired? Encouraged to make the most of their God-given potential? We’ve been given an amazing opportunity to equip and empower others. But we must not give up! We must continue to 'do good’ whatever that looks like for us, asking God to strengthen the work of our hands while we wait for our due season.