Teach vs. Life Balance - Choose One

When I agreed to start teaching, I had to (or at least I thought I had to) give up the ladies Bible study (LAMBS) that had meant so much to me for the past 7 or 8 years. I was still doing daily Bible study, writing about it, and sharing with friends, family, and my students, but I have really missed that particular format with other women. As my outside commitments increased, I finally broke down and hired some house help to take care of jobs I could not push off on to my kids whose chore load is more than enough right now. But when that sweet woman came to my house to clean today, she started talking to me while I was doing my Bible study and a fruitful discussion regarding God's wonderful word began.  She did not merely take some chores off my to-do list, we had Bible study fellowship right here together in my home. She rarely gets to interact with like-minded women and needed me as much as I needed her. What a glimpse of God's grace to use my poor choices (taking on too much and getting so overwhelmed I had to hire help) to give back what I most needed at the time and never should have let go of in the first place.  God could have punished me for my poor choices, but instead He gave back what I had dropped, for Bible study isn't so much what we do for God as if we could earn His pleasure, but rather, Bible study is something we do for ourselves and for each other. We need to feed on His word for nourishment, and we need to encourage one another in the word as iron sharpens iron.  What a gift of grace that moment with sweet Angela was.

I find it ironic that my blog was filled with exhortations for teachers to be passionate about their subjects, their students, and their divine calling, yet this year when I'm teaching much less than last year, I find myself completely overwhelmed by it.  Burnout is a terrible condition, and I understand better now why teachers may seem apathetic at times in comparison to my unrealistic ideals.  I do know teachers who manage to teach and love their students with all they are - passionate for the next generation and driven to excellence while also maintaining healthy marriages, parenting effectively with excellence, and even serving in numerous ministries outside of the school and home as well.  They are a unique set of people, however, and have a supernatural gift of priority setting and unfathomable discipline.  For us ordinary folks, it's hard to teach and parent well at the same time.  I only teach a little now, but I still find the demands of the classroom hindering my parenting.  I have taken on an additional job in consulting which keeps me away from home one day a week, but when I'm home, I'm fully home without the constant preoccupation with lesson plans and issues in the classroom, nor does that job keep me constantly stressed over how I will find the time to prepare as do teaching and tutoring.  I usually do my prep work between midnight and 3am while the rest of the family sleeps rendering me irritable and inefficient the next day.  All that to say teaching takes a toll on the family, and it is not the ideal schedule people think it is when they say, "How nice that your work schedule is the same as your kids." 

This post by a driven mom and teacher resonated with me. She is probably Type A, too, refusing to settle for less than 100% and struggles when she realizes being a great mom and a teacher requires 200% when we only have 100% to give.  If you have ever wondered what a day in the life of a teacher who is also a mom is like or if you are frustrated with your kids' teachers for not meeting your expectations, read this:

"I cannot be a good mother and a good teacher" .