Monday, July 19, 2021

About nine years ago, our family had a moving truck all packed to head to Chicago.  We had said our "goodbyes" to our family and friends.  There was still one last goodbye I had to make and it was the one I was dreading the most. It wasn't a "goodbye" to a person,  but a place and a community that I had grown to love so much. 

 I drove my vehicle over to the Christian school that had become such an important place in our lives. The last thing I had to pack up was the boxes I had left in my classroom.  I loaded my vehicle and walked back inside to return my key. Nobody was at the school this day, so I tucked my classroom key in an envelope and dropped it in the elementary principal's mailbox.  As the key fell into the mailbox my heart hurt so badly and the tears burst from my eyes. I loved this school so much. I loved teaching there. I loved the people I worked with, the students, and the families.  This school welcomed Jeremy and I both into their doors at the darkest time of our lives and this place brought so much healing to our brokenness.  This was the place that the Lord showed me the purpose He had for my life. It was in this place that my love for teaching was discovered and how natural it came to me. It was the first place, in a very long time, that I felt like I belonged. So, I wept for all of the things that I was walking away from, but I knew in my heart that we were following the Lord's plan for our life.

As I stood in the hallway weeping the Lord spoke to my heart and said, " I will bring you back to this place." I obviously questioned what in the world He was talking about. We were packed, moving 8 hours away, never to return,  and I thought I was hearing things. By the time I left the building I had resolved in my heart that the Lord meant He would bring me back to a place where I felt like I did at this school. 

We moved to Chicago and I taught at some really great schools. I worked with some of the best people. I learned and grew as an educator,  but I just never felt like I belonged and I honestly questioned the promise the Lord spoke to my heart in 2012. 

But God. Today, nine years after His promise,  a key was once again placed into my hand for my classroom at the beloved Christian school. The Lord had indeed brought me back to this place. Today as I entered those doors I was welcomed with hugs from familiar faces. I was introduced to some new faces. I saw some faces who were in my 1st grade class and are now Juniors 😳. I worked some in my classroom and I just kept giving thanks to the Lord for this opportunity to come back home. I am teaching a grade I have never taught before and I definitely have some nervous energy flowing,  but I know the Lord has brought me back for a purpose. I want to be used by Him to make a difference and so I look forward to all the Lord has in store for us this school year.