Time to Pause

I haven't written for a while. There have been so many transitions, new challenges and revelations that have changed my reality, I am breathless trying to keep up.

This fall we lost part of our music program and I was transferred to 3 new schools to fill in the gaps. Whenever you enter a new school, it takes a lot of time and effort to establish new relationships. This takes much longer and is more complicated when there are three schools instead of just one. Good working relationships are essential to accomplishing the job of teaching children. I have found that while professionalism involves taking the higher ground, there are those who choose a different path. Going into three new buildings is rather like walking into a minefield with a blindfold on. Eventually, you're going to step on one..or two before you figure out where the safest path is.

I'm currently guiding my little dingy through a bay that has been mined and I don't know which way to go. Indeed, my current view does not yield a positive outcome. I can't remain still because the tide keeps moving in and out. I have found it expedient to request a local Special Forces unit to guide me to a safe location where I can continue to serve. The new holes in the dingy are keeping me busy until help arrives. After I get to shore, I plan to look for a watercraft that's more seaworthy. I hope there's one available.

Above all, I put my trust in the Lord that things will work out as they need to. He has always been there for me when I need him. Most especially when I open the door by asking him to be there. When I am experiencing another difficult life lesson, I usually don't understand why it has to be so dang hard. I'm sure this could have been accomplished another way! It's later that I begin to understand why it had to be the way it was. Sometimes I never know why, but I trust that the understanding will come when I'm ready and need to hear it.

Next week, I will be admitted to the hospital for surgery. When I first found out about the necessity for this procedure, I wasn't happy. Why couldn't the timing have been in the summer? I don't work in the summer. Now, I thank the Lord for his tender mercies. The extra time off will allow me to rest and mentally prepare for that which is to come.

Master, the tempest is raging! The billows are tossing high!

The sky is o'er shadowed with blackness. No shelter or help is nigh.

Carest thou not that we perish? How canst thou lie asleep?

When each moment so madly is threatening A grave in the angry deep?

Master, with anguish of spirit I bow in my grief today.

The depths of my sad heart are troubled. Oh, waken and save, I pray!

Torrents of sin and of anguish Sweep o'er my sinking soul,

And I perish! I perish! dear Master. Oh, hasten and take control!

Master, the terror is over. The elements sweetly rest.

Earth's sun in the calm lake is mirrored, And heaven's within my breast!

Linger, Oh, blessed Redeemer! Leave me alone no more,

And with joy I shall make the blest harbor And rest on the blissful shore.

This may take some time, but I'll let you know when I get to the shore, and discover exactly where that shore is. :) Or, if the dingy sinks, you'll all be hearing from Tom.