I tend to hit the “teacher doldrums” once a semester – in October and then again in March. They are busy months smack dab in the middle of the semester. The freshness has worn off, the kids seem a little extra crazy, there are multiple demands on my time and energy, I’m not getting the needed amount of sleep, my to do list is growing exponentially, and the next break seems so far away.

My first few years of teaching, these times sent me into panic, and they consisted of tearful phone calls to my parents followed by scouring the internet for new career ideas.

I have finally realized that they come every year pretty regularly, so I am a little more prepared for them. I mean, at least I no longer head to LinkedIn and start filling out job applications…or I at least I haven’t yet. We do still have a few more weeks of March…

I begin to recognize the restlessness, the quick rise of irritation with my students and coworkers, the coldness that creeps into my relationship with God as my busyness increases, the feeling of overwhelm and resentment in wondering when I am going to fit anything else into my life except school.

Each year, God has to remind me how to handle these times of the semesters in a way that pleases Him. I can’t always control what’s going on around me, but I can certainly control my response to it.  

Fill your mind with God’s Truth

This year, especially, I have realized how much I need to get God’s Word constantly going through my head and my heart.

I need a lot less scrolling and a lot more time meditating.

When I am in the doldrums, my tendency is escapism. I tend to be so tired that I just can’t think of doing much beyond scrolling through Facebook or putting on a TV episode and entering someone else’s life for a bit.

But what I find is that those activities tend to just make me feel worse. Especially as I scroll through post after post on Facebook, I start to see things that others have, and I don’t…or I see bitter arguing among Christians… let’s just say that certainly doesn’t help a heart that’s already struggling with discontentment and anger!

When I’m not “escaping”, I tend to meditate on how rough things are or how a certain person has wronged me. Over and over again, I let those thoughts tumble around in my head. But God is teaching me that I need to replace those thoughts with meditating on Him and the many ways that He has shown His goodness to me.  Isaiah 26:3-4 has been a verse that God has really been impressing on my heart this year.

You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 26:3-4

Some ways to do that:

• Memorize Scripture (I enjoy using the Remember Me app on my phone – when my fingers are itching to get on my phone, I can put them to much better use memorizing Scripture than scrolling Facebook!)
• Increase your time in God’s Word – I know that right now you probably can’t even think of adding another thing to the busyness. But start small – have your regular devotions in the morning and shoot to spend just 5-10 minutes before you get into bed reading the Bible again (or use the audio method mentioned below).
• If you are an audiobook or podcast person, listen to an audio Bible, devotional, or sermon series. (Podcasts I enjoy include Revive Our Hearts, Daily Grace by The Daily Grace Co.)
• Make a playlist of praise music and play it constantly…in the morning as you get ready, play it in your car as you drive to and from work, put in some earbuds and play it during your prep period…but get your mind focused on Christ and His goodness to you.
• If you are a reader – I find that reading biographies of other Christians fans the flames of my heart and puts my circumstances into perspective. When I see their devotion to God, it makes me yearn to have that same kind of relationship! (A few of my favorite biographies: Elisabeth Elliot, George Mueller, Darlene Deibler Rose, David Boudia)

Extend Grace

Ooooh, this is a hard one.  I am an organizer – everything goes onto a list, my planner, and my phone calendar. I plan out everything, but when my plans get derailed by others…well, I am not typically very happy about it.

And usually around this time of year, that can happen a lot.

My students are extra crazy. The disorganized ones seem to be even more disorganized. Everyone is busy and trying to keep their head above water. So sometimes they forget to tell me things. Sometimes there is a scheduling conflict.  Last minute things come up. Sometimes what I had planned gets completely scratched out.

I found myself grumbling to a friend about how we extended grace to an organization, but that they never showed any grace towards us. “Grace goes both ways!” I fumed.

And the instant those words came out of my mouth, I realized that they may have felt good to say, but they certainly weren’t a picture of biblical grace.  

You see, grace is undeserved favor.

Showing kindness and a smile to someone who is following my agenda isn’t grace…that’s natural! Anyone can do that!

Grace is showing kindness when you have messed up my agenda or wronged me. It’s not “deserved”, and it’s a reflection of the undeserved kindness that God has shown to me (Romans 3:23-24, Romans 11:6).

When I feel that irritation coming, I need to be quick to hear what the other person is saying and slow to speak (James 1:19-20).

I need to take a deep breath & go to the Lord in prayer, begging Him to help me show the same grace to others that He has exteded to me.

Go Back to the Basics

 When everything feels like it’s about to go spinning out of control, go back to the basics of who God is. He is in control of every situation (Is. 46:8-10), and He loves me with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3). Each disruption, each frustration, each challenge that comes my way today has been allowed by my loving Father. So I can step forward in His strength to meet them.

Go back to the basic of Why am I here?  God has you in your school, your classroom, with these students and coworkers for a specific reason – to glorify Him. We glorify Him when we are loving and serving others, not when we are snippy and irritable.

In light of eternity, it’s far more important to extend grace to those around me than to maintain my perfectly scheduled day. In light of eternity, it’s more important to love my students than to have that perfectly executed hands-on lesson.

When the doldrums hit, it’s hard…but because of Christ, we can still glorify God through them. We can still have joy and love those around us.  Christ lived on earth, too, and He knows the temptations that we face. He successfully ran this race, and He invites us to come to Him for the strength we need to navigate difficult times.  Run to Him today…and tomorrow…and the next day. Though you might be running on fumes at this point in the school year, His grace and strength never run out!

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. ¹⁶ Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 4:15-16