Serenity How?
As previously noted, I finished up my last year in a fourth grade classroom. The Lord has called me to teach Middle School Religion at St. Mary's Catholic School in Littleton.
I ask for your prayers. May I bring Christ to my new students, while at the same time balance Biblical School classes and most importantly, my duties as a husband and father. St. Joseph, pray for me.
Also, if you are interested in supporting my ministry (outside of your prayers), you can click on the link below for my Amazon Wish List. These are books that would aid my mission in the classroom. Some are reference materials for both students and teacher. Others are books for the students to use for projects and assignments. Note the option to sort by level of priority. We appreciate any support you can give!
The reason for my change certainly had nothing to do with wanting to leave 4th Grade or St. Rose of Lima; I love both. Over the last couple years I could feel God tugging at my heart, calling me to teach more Theology. The most enjoyable aspect of teaching 4th Grade has always been spending all day with the same students and forming an authentically Catholic culture and team environment. I especially loved watching my economy system unfold. But my favorite subject was Religion. This is my passion, thanks be to God.
At first I thought my next step would be high school Theology, but over time the Lord opened my heart to considering middle school. This particular position was especially appealing because St. Mary's is one of the few schools big enough to allow junior high teachers to specialize in one subject instead of two. All Religion, all day... I'm in!
When I broke the news to my students at St. Rose, we discussed following God's will. I am sad to leave them, I said, but I feel very much at peace because I know without a doubt this is where God wants me next. This, of course, prompted many questions.
But how do you know?
The million dollar question.
We toss around this concept all the time. "Thy will be done." "I submit my life to you, Lord." "Answer God's call." And my personal favorite, "Let Jesus do the driving." But do we really think about what this means in practice? How would you explain it to a fourth grader? Part of the problem is that it looks different for different people. Some people hear God's voice. Not me. I've never received a Google-chat request from the Big Guy.
I think one thing we must overcome is the mentality that God's will is always something different than our will. And this path requested by God is the most difficult road. Of course there will be many times when God asks us to do something difficult. But it's not always such a drastic road like quitting your job and starting a homeless shelter.
I can't even remember exactly how I answered my students' questions. I think I joked that God sent me a text, which they thought was hilarious (I'm going to have to adjust my fourth grade sense of humor). But it has really caused me to reflect on this question, and Sarah and I have had great conversations about it. For what it's worth, here's what I've concluded.
Our goal should be to reach the point, in our journey towards sanctification, that our will is aligned with God's will. Totally. Completely. During this process our separate wills certainly fall in and out of alignment, but the more consistently they fall in step, the holier we are becoming.
So how does the process unfold? Well, with the help of God's grace of course, but there we go again - that's not concrete enough for a fourth grader (or a 31st grader for that matter). There are many ways, but perhaps the best approach to aligning our will with God's can be described as this: We must fill up on Him. On Christ, that is. The word made flesh. In prayer, in the Eucharist, in Scripture, in the confessional, in fellowship with other Christians, in other spirit-led writings like the Catechism and those of the Saints. Fill up. Roll around. Soak in His love and grace. Rest in truth, beauty, and goodness. If we do this, how can our wretched wills and empty desires do anything but burn with the purifying fire of His love?
This is just my thought anyway; I don't have an imprimatur on this!
And I'm definitely not claiming to have achieved this holy state of a perfectly aligned will. Not by any stretch. But with regards to my career moves, I do think this accounts for the sense of beautiful peace I've felt with every decision. I had no doubt God was calling me to leave my business career and go into teaching. People often describe that decision as impressive, but it was not. There was nothing heroic about it. I wanted to do it. If anything, it was selfish. The Lord called, but he also put the desire on my heart. Same would go for my call to the vocation of marriage. Same thing happened for our move to St. Rose in Denver. And once again, I felt the same last spring when I was offered the Religion position. [Note: I just skipped over all the post-decision moments of panic, self-doubt, fear, anxiety, and complaint. Not about my marriage of course, but the other decisions.]
A friend I grew up with is now a priest, and he recently told me that the two best days of his life were when he made the decision to join the seminary and the day of his ordination. But his happiness was not due to a proud feeling of accomplishment or a satisfaction from reaching a goal or even the excitement of the big moment. He said it was a peaceful calm that can only come from knowing you are doing exactly what God made you to do at exactly this moment.
And thanks be to God for this serenity. It's a gift from Him, received only by filling up on Him.
For my next assignment, a text message would be cool. But for now, I know it's a middle school mission.
St. John Bosco, pray for me!
hi Mr.O hows your new school?????? also hows john Paul??? hope your school is awesome but not as good as the eagles hope you had a great summer. =)
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hi mr oconnor how is it going over there in your new school hope its going great GO COMETS
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