My heart is turned within me, my repentance is stirred up.

(Hosea 11:8 DRA)

Time for Change in Education (Part II)
All her problems and issues at work did not go away after Roses life changing personal
encounter with God. Each day she had to battle hard against herself not to take control. It was a
great challenge to begin doing things Gods way instead of her own habituated way. For the first
time Rose learned the true meaning of confession and repentance. She lost many daily battles but
many of them she won until winning became a habit and the norm. Each battle she won brought her
life and life in greater abundance both personally and professionally. Each victory for her was also a
victory for her school because her leadership impacted each student, parent and staff member.
The first thing Rose realized about herself was that, as an alcoholic was addicted to alcohol
in destructive ways, she was addicted to being in control in destructive ways. She realized she had more in common with her
father than just genetics. This was a very sobering and humbling fact to learn about herself. Part of Roses healing was forgiving
her father and then apologizing to her daughter, who was in college, for over-controlling her life. Near mid school year, Rose even
apologized to her staff for over controlling and shared her desire to change and a need for their help. She also shared her desire
to build and renew the trust many had lost in her and the goal to build a team. The staff was shocked to see and hear Rose
humble herself, be vulnerable, apologize, and ask for help in overcoming a personal issue. It was the turning point in the staff
morale and a starting point for the schools future academic success and retention of staff from year to year.
Rose knew from her childhood experiences in church that the road map for her release from this addiction was to seek
God first and to start listening to and drawing closer to Him. She knew she first had to begin building her life on the teaching of
Jesus, not what she had learned in graduate school, professional education workshops, or in the many self-help books she had
read. She knew that this secular knowledge, though important, could not stand in her life if one didnt have a strong faith
foundation to place it on, just as the walls and roof of a house wont stand long if not built upon a strong foundation.
Roses routine in her life changed. She had once started every morning with several cups of coffee and thinking about
the day to come at school. She would look at her day planner and begin to plot out her course for the day. She would check
school email at home because she knew when she got to school she would be distracted and unable to focus as well. Rose
stopped that routine. After some searching at home, she found her personal, long neglected, dusty Bible she hadnt read since
her college years and began to read it each morning highlighting passages that jumped out at her off the pages. She started a
journal where she wrote down these passages and her reflections upon them. She would often write letters to God.
Rose read Psalm 139:13-14 for the very first time, For you [God] created my inmost being; you knit me together in my
mothers womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful. She realized for the first time
in her life how beautiful and wonderful she was, not because she had achieved some position or recognition from others or
because she looked a particular way. She was beautiful and wonderful simply because God said it. No man at this time in her life
was telling her how beautiful she was but she heard Jesus tell her that morning. She remembers looking at herself in a full length
bathroom mirror and saying to herself, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and truly believed it. She then had another waking
vision and saw her body, her poochy stomach, chunky thighs and dark circle under her eyes, transformed by God into what she
could look like if she began taking the time to truly care for herself.
She knew Jesus was telling her to start loving herself more and that as she had neglected her relationship with Him for
so long, she had neglected taking good care of herself. He reminded her that her top four objectives were to love Him, her
neighbors, herself and her enemies. Rose began to physically work out more and do things she loved to do that built her up as a
person and renewed her spirit. She began spending less time at work and began to find real balance for the first time in her life.
Rose read again in Exodus the story of Moses being overwhelmed by his administrative responsibilities. Moses
education assignment was the deliverance, migration, and teaching of over 500,000 slaves of all ages in a desert with no salary,
budget, food, water, port-a-potties, convenience stores or technology. He had only one teaching assistant, his brother Aaron.
Wow! Was that ever an assignment! Roses problems at school paled in comparison. Rose saw how Moses was given a
message to delegate and share his God given authority with others (Exodus 18) and Rose began to delegate more and more
responsibilities at her school giving staff, parents, and students more ownership, investment, and ultimately more pride in the
school. Morale, school spirit and student achievement began to climb. (To be continued.)
Prayer: Jesus, share with us the truth about ourselves and set us free. Help us first win the battle over sin in our own lives.
Reflection: What things do I battle to overcome in my personal life? Am I winning or losing? What does God want me to do?
Getting Real: Get into, soak in, and read the Bible regularly. Gods word is the ultimate S.P.A. (Spirit Pampering Almighty).
CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: Love Ladders Love Matters (For info or prayer contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) WEEK 4
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