Newbie Mistake

And I will give them singleness of heart and put a new spirit within them.  I will take away their stony, stubborn heart and give them a tender, responsive heart, so they will obey my decrees and regulations. Then they will truly be my people, and I will be their God.  Ezekiel  11:19

I was a brand new teacher, struggling to manage a group of high schoolers who were but a few years younger than I.  In the middle of a literature lesson, I noticed a student writing and folding a note.  I assumed she was merely seconds from passing the note across to another student.  Desperate to be “in charge” in the room, I asked her to hand over the note.

As I reached to take hold of the note, “No,” she retorted. 

My fingers gripped the folded paper and a tug-of-war ensued.

“Give me the paper,” I demanded. She refused to let go.  She and I pulled back and forth on the paper, both of us standing our ground, neither willing to let go.

Whispers of “Be the adult. Let go. You’re making a mess of this” cycled through my brain until finally my stubbornness gave way. 

The ugliness of this incident still haunts me.  Why couldn’t I have just quietly asked her to put it away?  It wasn’t mine; I didn’t need to see it.

In a Nutshell

Sometimes our stubbornness gets in the way of the good we are trying to do. 

Father, You are the God of love and mercy.  Forgive me for having a stony, stubborn heart, for not being tender and responsive in the past.  As I develop relationships with my new students, I ask You to put a spirit of love in my heart that they may feel Your love flowing through me.  I want to be obedient to You; help me, Father, to follow your ways.  In Christ’s name, Amen.