Devotions for Teachers: The Peacemakers
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:9
It’s baaaaaccckk. A new school year has descended upon so many of us, and with it comes new policies, procedures, students, coworkers, and all. of. the. stress.
In the midst of all of the stress, have you ever thought about how we are called to be peacemakers? I mean, what kind of nonsense is that. I’m at home with my babies this year, and I am also called to be a peacemaker. My husband teachers 120 8th graders in one day and he is called to be a peacemaker. The entire back to school season is a cyclone of chaos, but if you take the time to be still and listen to what God wants for you this school year…he wants you to be an instrument of peace.
I think we often feel during the school year that chaos is created outside of our control, and we’re there to try to coordinate things in the wreckage. But being an instrument of peace means that we are in charge of a whole lot more than we think we are.
You can’t control the new district push to use only boxed curriculum. You can’t change the number of observations we will have this year. You can’t change your schedule, or your overcrowded classroom, or the workload.
But when you close your classroom door, that is your place of peace (or at least it should be). You want your students to feel safe and loved in your room. As teachers we all want our students to describe our rooms as somewhere they love going, because it is calming and gives them a break from the distractions of the world. And who knew that creating that kind of environment is biblical?
I can think back to just last year, and the times that I knew my principal was coming to observe me, or there was a disagreement on my team…those things would weigh heavily on my shoulders, and my students never behaved the way I wanted them to on those days. But if I’m really being honest, it’s because I contributed to their stress. I was absorbed in my own anxiety, and I wasn’t paying attention to the little ways they were off-task to get me to look at them. Before I knew it, my room was loud and I was lecturing them on how they KNOW the rules by now, and soon they will be in third grade where there’s no place for acting that way! (Eye roll here.) I wasn’t acting as an instrument of peace in those moments.
This school year, make your classroom a place of peace. Shut out the noise the best you can for your students so you can show them what Jesus looks like by just being present in the moment with them. You may have had a terrible staff meeting that morning, but when you enter your classroom door, it’s all about you and those kids, and they will absorb the stress you are carrying around with them.
So, ask yourself this week: when does my classroom feel the most chaotic? What can I do to facilitate more peace for my kids in those moments?
The Bible says all Christians are called to be peacemakers, and I certainly believe that, but I have this funny feeling that Matthew knew that teachers and caretakers of children had a special calling in that field. Just a hunch. ;)
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