LIFE IN BLOOM

Learning How to Flourish in God's Grace

Tag Archives: Dreams


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Friday Favorites- Texts from My Students

I don’t think it’s a secret that I love my students and my alma mater dearly.  Both of them have a special place in my heart and receive a lot of my love and attention.

When God allows those two things to merge together, I feel even more blessed.  Especially when it comes in the form of receiving text messages like this:

Student 1: “I received my acceptance letter from UNC!”

Student 2: “I was just accepted to the University of North Carolin at Chapel Hill :-)”

I’m relatively emotional ANYWAY (another post for another time), but when you have the opportunity to work with students, share your love and passions with them, and then watch them pursue that on their own- and the result is successful- the feeling is overwhelming.

I’ve known many of these students since I’ve been at this school, so I’ve watched them grow over the past few years.  It is always my desire to see them excel; to have a life of choice, one full of “want-to” not “have-to”.  

I was in tears after receiving their text messages (and a few phone calls) because I’m so excited about the things to come in their lives. Every day these students trust me and other teachers at our word- that the hard work will pay off, that the struggles they’re facing are common AND that they will overcome them. And then there are days like this where they really, truly believe you.

I’m so grateful for the opportunity to serve them.


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Unspeakable Joy

When working with teenagers, a lot of your day can have intense and extreme emotions.  Extreme frustration.  Extreme delight.  Extreme anger.  Extreme sadness.  As they go through these emotions, sometimes I do too.  Sometimes their actions push me to THAT point; other times, things that happen to them allow me to feel a certain way.  Nevertheless, it is a constant emotional cycle.

I’m not sure if I’ve done enough to explain the joy that working with students can bring, and partially because it’s difficult for me to find the words.  For example:

  • How do you find the words to describe the feeling you get when you watch a student overcome their fear and stretch themselves to conquer something that has previously terrified them?
  • Or what words are there to describe the feeling you have when a student who has repeated grades, runs to show you his report card- and you see that he not only has grown 21 points in one class since the last quarter, but he’s also earned Honor Roll?
  • Even still, how do you describe the feeling when your seniors tell you that after years of dreaming and working, they’ve been accepted into their top choice college?

I don’t always do a good job of articulating the sheer joy and delight that working with students can bring.  The 3 moments that I described above are very real- and I experienced them all over this past week.  It’s safe to say that working with students creates moments of unspeakable joy, and I’m very blessed that they have allowed me to be a part of their lives.

Unspeakable joy.

Until next time…