God answers prayers.

I'm so thankful for that promise. And even though some things may not always go the way we want them to, I can rest knowing that His ways are higher than mine and that my circumstances, as confusing and frustrating as they are to me now, are all sorted out from His point of view. The other part of this good news is that he hears and understands us even when we don't know how to express ourselves.

Don't try this at home: groaning over dirty dishes in your kitchen does not result in a magical, automatic cleanliness. It doesn't work.

What does work is when you cry out to God over a matter that has been heavy on your heart, and He brings just the right person to lift you up and point you back in the right direction.
After spring break, I started getting really discouraged again about my job and my students and how I was doing as a teacher. I hated everything about my days and saw no reward from it. I let everything get to me: from the lack of studying, to the ever-present work at home, to the students saying how much they love Mr. So-and-so and how fun Mrs. So-and-so's class is.... I had a great big (and long) pity party.

Then, one Tuesday night, there was faculty speaker scheduled to come to the Graduate Christian Fellowship Group. Since attendance has been really low this year, I thought I should go to show my support. This professor happened to be the language coordinator for German classes, and whose research was all about second language acquisition. I secretly rolled my eyes when he started introducing himself and his work. Then, I might have teared up because every single thing he said spoke directly to what was happening in my life then (and still is).

He had 2 simple points:
Work was never meant to be more or less than what God intended it to be: a job that brings us pleasure and meets our financial needs, and blesses others.
A) Don't make too little of your work and think "does this even matter? who cares about this in the grand scope of things! no one is going to read my dissertation."
B) Don't make too much of your work and allow it to consume your life, destroy your relationships, etc...
People were never meant to be more or less than what God intended them to be: to love and bless and be loved and blessed by them.

C) Don't make too little of the people you work with and forget that they have been bought with the precious blood of Christ and have eternal worthD) Don't make too much of the people you work with and place your sense of security and fulfillment in their hands. God is the only One who can satisfy.

It's been nearly 3 weeks and I've tried to think of work as just that: work. A lesson to teach. I'm trying to remember that the grammar is not the most important thing, and that my worth is not tied up in how well they do on activities and tests. I'm also trying to work on my relationships with students: asking questions about their lives and making jokes in class, empathizing more with them.

I'm still busy and tired. It's still difficult to get kids motivated. But I'm not feeling as frustrated or down on myself. It's a good lesson and I will need to hear it again and again.

I hope God answers your prayers with that same specificity this week.