After watching CNN and BBC for hours and hearing all that is going on in Haiti, I was really in need of some encouragement (and hopefully am passing it on) and came upon Isaiah chapter 41, which is titled, "Fear Not, For I Am with You."
"Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10
"When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them." - Isaiah 41:17
I particularly enjoyed these verses although the whole chapter is great, these two seemed particularly applicable and encouraging. I already was very familiar with verse 10 as it is a verse I often use to encourage myself when I am feeling lonely (it happens when you're not living in a dorm anymore), but verse 17 hit the nail right on the head.
I ended up having a great conversation with one of my students today concerning the earthquake in Haiti last night. It was really eye-opening for the student and made me look up history of Haiti. (being a French teacher, I think this is important.) It was also great to talk about something so outside of what most high school students here in the United States are aware of.
My student was appalled by the conditions before the earthquake and even more so by the government and history of the country. I remember one particular moment when she said, "But how can they do that?!?" I looked up pictures of the shanty towns and before/after pictures of the cities (especially Port-au-Prince and Petionville) and the expression on this student's face made me think - why aren't we all always this offended by inhumane conditions all over the world and willing to contribute? Why do we seemingly have to wait until there's a disaster? Because we're human. So I pray that God will give me empathy and open my eyes to what I can do every day. And not only that, but give me the confidence and discipline to do what I can!
"Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. " - Job 42:11
What a good example this is of the love we should show others! (Except the part in Job where everyone abandoned him; rather, this part, where we share comfort and supplies for physical needs.) This should not only be for our close friends and family, but others that we may reach out to. For we are commanded, "Love your neighbor as yourself," (Matthew 19:19) and we are given the example of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37). How much more in this modern day of convenience, fast travel, and faster communication must I take it upon myself to constantly aid and give up prayers to the best of my abilities?
As a reward for completing a level of a game online today, I was rewarded with the following message:
WELL DONE!
As a reward you will be played some easy listening music followed by some vigorous jazz.
Haha. I got quite a bit of amusement from this message. What a great way to reward arcade game players and expose them to a little bit of culture. Not culture I am very fond of (the easy listening), but culture nonetheless.
"La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri." - Sébastien Roch Nicolas, dit CHAMFORT, Maximes et pensées
Roughly translated to: "The most wasted of all days is the one where one did not laugh."
I'm finding more and more that it's important to have a sense of humour especially when dealing daily with teenagers! There are good days and bad days, but at the end of the day, I need to remember how much I care for my kids and the smiles and laughs they give me.
So it's been an obnoxiously long time since I last wrote, but in my defence, this is my first year of teaching, and I'm almost halfway done! It's been crazy trying to work out the planning and paperwork, but I think I have a pretty good system now. I'm already working on plans for January!
And here's the thing that I saw that reminded me, yes, I do have a blog that needs to be written every once in a while; the funniest headline I have seen this year (be sure to read the comments from readers at the bottom, just as hilarious as the article): Stoned wallabies make crop circles.