Long time coming

This entry has been a long time int he making. How do you cram nearly a year into one little paragraph? Well, I will try to begin.
This past year I have grown from a fledgling teacher, full of self-importance and pride, to a full-grown educator. Yes, I may not have my own classroom officaially, but I have learned more about myself in the last year than in my lifetime. I started out the application process last year wondering why anyone would NOT want to hire me. I look back now and laugh at the idealistic answers I gave in my first interview. I realize now I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. God must share in that mirth as he looks down and gives me gentle disappointments so that I can be guided into the path he has for me. I would never have gleaned these gems of wisdom if I had been handed my own classroom last summer. I HAD to go through the exercise of trusting Him and following the lilypads to cross the pond.
I NOW feel ready to have my own class, yet that in itself is a terrifying prospect. I was not this intimidated last summer, and I hope that indicates my new maturity in the matter. I once heard that "courage is not the absence of fear but the determination to overcome it". Hopefully, that is the same with teaching. Maybe now that I understand the full scope of my reach as a teacher, this new awe and respect for the profession reveals that I can overcome it and grow into the "Master Teacher" I strive towards being.
As I prepare for tomorrow's lessons, I pray that god will give me the ability and wisdom to touch the academic and personal lives of these children in ways that will last.