Sometimes I feel like I'm being sustained by the notion that "If I just keep working long hours and get everything done, soon I will be able to slow down." I chase this idea that the harder I work now, the less hard I will have to work in the future. While this holds merit in some circumstances and professions, it is not a reality of teaching. I have this image of myself "chasing the slow down," where I am running after a tortoise, hoping to catch up with it so that we can talk a slow, leisurely walk together. I can never seem to catch the tortoise. He remains ahead and sometimes hidden, elusive.
Is peace and rest elusive in your teacher life? You are not alone! If you resonated with my word picture while at the same time found it ridiculous--we're on the same page. Peace is not something we can find and catch by wearing ourselves out running pell-mell after it. Both Psalm 34:14 and 1 Peter 3:11 tell us to "...seek peace and pursue it." But it seems counterproductive to sacrifice peace in order to pursue it. Maybe our pursuit of peace should be daily, hourly. I do not think working harder, faster or stronger will really put us on the path of peace.
We cannot always count on our circumstances to change in order that we might have peace. We can count on God's provision in giving us peace when we seek it. A peace amidst the chaos. A peace that seems out of place for our circumstances.
So if I nix my crazy "chasing the slow down" image. What does it look like to pursue peace?
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