I was in my first year of teaching and at this time I had one of my first challenging students!  My student teaching assignments were relatively smooth because my mentor teachers were experienced and had their classrooms in pretty good shape before I got there.

The afternoon kindergarten teacher who I was replacing was experienced as well, but there was this one little girl (I’ll call Marci) . . Oh my, I remember her well.

From the journal . . . . May 1997

Lord, I need Your wisdom.  Marci is disrupting the class and getting more than a reasonable amount of my time.  What can help?  She needs You, so does her mom.  Jesus, I know I’m not the answer but there must be something I can do?  You know I don’t have time to give away on a no-win situation.  I am willing to do Your will, but I need wisdom and words of knowledge.

Today I cringe when I read, “You know I don’t have time to give away on a no-win situation.”   That sounds so pessimistically awful.  It was borne from desperation because I was so afraid of failing.  Marci would attempt and succeed in blocking me from my goal of being this competent teacher that I hoped to be. 

And I Believe God Said:

You won’t save everyone, but you must love them in hope.  Pour into your students what you can in the time you are with them.  When you ask Me to have mercy on them, I hear and I do, but the choice is always theirs.  Marci needs boundaries and consistency.  You need to learn to do this.   It is what she needs.  Be kind, but firm.  Don’t be so concerned with ‘fair.’  You are fair to Marci but you might overlook the ‘rights’ of the behaving students.  Marci misbehaves on purpose.  Don’t let up on her because she is always getting into trouble.  She’s in trouble because she misbehaves. However, when you see her doing good, praise her.  Don’t lose hope and don’t write her off.

Col. 4:5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity.
Gal 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Josh 24:15 If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”