New Beginnings

Tomorrow, I begin a new semester of teaching.
For some teachers, this is not a big change.
But for me, it is.

I get all new students. All new classes.
A completely different schedule.

I am teaching two classes that I was not teaching last semester.

And depite being a veteran, second year teacher, :)
I always get a little nervous when the new faces come into my
classroom for the first time.

I always wonder, who are they, really?
For many of them, all I know is their name
on the first day.

For some of them, I will never know them much more
than that. They will walk into my classroom,
silently.
And leave, silently.
I will just be another person
passing by in their lives for a moment
they won't remember five years from now.

For some of them, I will know them quite well when they leave.
I will know their struggles, their hobbies, their hearts, and
their passions.
I will keep in contact with them in the future.
I will help them make decisions
or work through circumstances and doubts.

I have realized that both situations are okay.
And one may not even be better than the other.

As I leave behind the struggles of last semester,
and the students I couldn't agree with
or had to work at to love,
I feel a mixture of emotions.

As I leave behind joys of getting to know once strangers,
of getting to be a positive part of some of their lives
for a moment,
I feel bittersweet.

This semester will offer challenges, just like last,
but they will be different challenges.

This semester will offer joy, just like last,
but they will be new joys.

It is refreshing to leave behind my mistakes,
disheartening to leave behind accomplishments,
challenging to leave behind comfort,
and impossible to understand what lies ahead.

Change.
Is always a little bit scary.
And a little bit exciting.

But I rejoice in new beginnings.
In new chances
In new opportunities.

After all, God is a God of new beginnings.
Of second chances.
Of forgiveness and grace.

Except for He offers us a new beginning
each day.

And not just once or twice a year.

I hope I can be a person that offers
new beginnings to others.
I hope I can refrain from judging a student or any person
based upon a past mistake.
I hope I can be a person that forgives and offers second chances,
both to others and to myself.

But most of all, I hope I believe wholeheartedly that God can bring
new beginnings into situations that seem dire, hopeless,
and unchangeable.