I had this incredibly incorrect expectation that time in the south would be much slower. I have dreamed about being in this calm and relaxing environment where everyone sits outside on their porches, drinks sweet tea, talks slowly, takes their time to go from place to place, and always makes time for one another. Needless to say, this is not the life that I have been experiencing here in the Delta. In fact, it has been the absolute opposite. And it is draining. But this past weekend, I finally experienced a bit of that slowness and rest that I had been desiring.
We had a 3 day weekend for 4th of July (PTL!). We probably should have stayed here in Cleveland and slept and got ahead on lesson plans and all that jazz, but we knew that we needed to escape. So Janie, Becca, Rachel, Laura, and I went on the best girls' road trip up to eastern Tennessee to see Rachel's cousin get married!
We left friday night at 630pm and arrived in Bristol at about 530am Saturday morning. It was a very long car ride, but I just adore these girls and we had so much fun simply being together and singing justin bieber and stopping at sonic and having good conversations. It was also the first time that we went longer than a half an hour without talking about anything related to work, teaching, or our students!
We slept for a few hours, woke up, visited with Rachel's aunt and cousins, and then found out that the wedding had not been set up yet for that evening! So we quickly became the wedding crew and set to decorating with tool and flowers and copper pots and turned an ordinary picnic area into a place for a wedding! We decided we are going to start our own business called( "I Do," Now). So let us know if you're getting married and need it put together in a day!
We were busy the whole day preparing for the wedding, but none of it felt busy. It was fun and enjoyable to be a part of something so special and for someone whom I had never met, but with people I love so dearly. They also had the best reception ever because we got to ride on the backs of motorcycles at about 130mph on the beautiful Tennessee country roads with fireflies flying all around!
Riding that fast on a motorcycle is definitely one of my new favorite experiences. Mostly because I was able to relate it a lot to where I'm at in my life right now. I think that my life right now, working for TFA in Mississippi at this crazy time of my life is very much like riding on the back of a motorcyle at 130mph. There is no way that I would ever decide to drive a motorcycle myself, especially that fast. But thankfully, God does not ask me to drive; He simply asks that I climb on up, hold on tight with both of my hands grasped, and trust Him. If I were to try and do it on my own, I would fall flat on my face and crash my bike because there is no possible way that I could drive a motorcycle, especially since I have never even been on one. There is no way that I could be a successful, impacting, and effective teacher if I were to do it on my own because I have never been the instructional leader in a classroom before. I need to remember that I am not really the driver. God is the driver of this crazy bike, and I am just along for the ride. I do not know what the final destination will be, where we'll go in between, or what route we'll take to get there. But it is not important for me to know those things. The driver will always tell me what I need to do to be prepared. The only thing that was really in my control was that I trusted my driver and listed to what he said. My motorcycle driver would never tell me that we were going to pop a wheely; he would simply ask me if I was holding on extra tight. When I assured him that I was, he would take off on some fancy trick. If he would of asked me if I was ready to pop a wheely, I would have been terrified and said no way. But he made sure that I was ready, and then went for it, knowing that I would be safe and not fall. As I held on tight and trusted my driver, I was continually amazed by the thrill, enjoyment, beauty, and joy that I experienced on that drive. These next 2 years will be filled with so many twists and turns and fancy tricks that I am so unprepared for. If you would have told me 4 years ago that I would graduate college and move to Mississippi to be a special education teacher for junior high students in the lowest income and poverty area in the country, I would have said that there was no way. But as I continue to hold on tight to the Lord, he is continuing to amaze me and to bring me to places that I never thought I would be able to reach. I need to continue to trust him and to hold on tight.
There are only 4 more instructional days left in summer school. Only 4 more days to teach my children the material that they will need to know to pass the test next Thursday to move on to the 6th grade. I am so attached to my students, and I love them dearly. But they are crazy. And teaching here is still the hardest thing I have ever done. But there are only 4 days left. These last 4 days need to be the best and most important days that we have had. I hope and pray that this time left matters. Please pray for me and my students as we attempt to finish strong. I have a lot of students with special needs in my class and no time to give them the accommodations or one-on-one time that they need and deserve. Pray for wisdom that I will know what to say and how to reach them. Pray that they will be receptive. Pray that our work here in this last week would have impacts that last so much longer than these 4 weeks.
Holding on tight,
Em
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