The Closing of a Chapter

Doubt pounds on my classroom door as I close it for the last time. Did I do enough?

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Did I give enough encouragement? Did I show them enough love? Did all the kids that walked through that classroom door feel like they mattered? Did I do enough?

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Over the 7 years I’ve been teaching I’ve had the blessing and privilege to serve roughly 1,300 students.

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I laughed with them, cried with them, celebrated with them, grieved with them, encouraged them, gave some tough love when they needed it.

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Creating a warm, welcoming environment where they could be who they wanted to be with no judgement from me was far more important to me than any curriculum I was given to teach. If they don’t trust me, they won’t learn from me.

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I tried my best to make each individual person feel like they truly matter. They are capable of anything they set their mind to. They are brave. They are strong. And they are the BEST part of the world of education.

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Did I do enough?

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I am forever changed for the better for knowing each precious soul that entered my room.

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I may be done teaching in a high school classroom, but I know I’m not done teaching. It’s a part of my soul.

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As the bell rang today signaling the end of another school year, students joyously shouted and hollered as they walked down the hallway to meet summer in all her glory.

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I remained in my quiet, empty classroom. Bare walls where student achievements once hung. The desks were now empty of my precious kids who filled my cup each day.

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It was still.

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And in that stillness, the remnants of their laughter, the conversations, their warmth, the brilliance I got to witness each and every year, reminded me that my season here was fruitful. So very fruitful.

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But now it’s time for me to move on to a new season.

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As the tears began to fall, I couldn’t help but smile knowing that I fulfilled my purpose in this season. Excitement grabs my hand, smiles wide and begs me to smile back as I move on to the next season that God has set before me.

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It is scary, yes. But He makes me brave. And I know I will cross paths with my amazing students some day in the future and we can remember, together, just how much this season meant to us both.

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I’ve done enough here. And that is enough for me to move forward into the next right thing for this next new season.