The sparkle in my eye!

I ne“Turn and answer me, O LORD my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die. Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, “We have defeated him!” Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.”

Psalms 13:3-4 NLT.  http://bible.com/116/psa.13.3-4.nlt

i am sure we all have days where we have lost the "sparkle" in our eye. Weariness and over work often lead to the stress or burn out. I always feel that way at the end of the school year, but I can feel that way also at the end of the week, end of the day, or the end of a conversation. At the beginning of the school year we have excitement, drive, and a sparkle in our eye. Right now I'm transitioning from a busy school year that wore me out. I have spent this past week with my team looking over the past year and preparing for next year. Summer school starts on Monday. I'm taking a summer refresher course on calculus. I'm working on finding and building math projects for students to apply math concepts, I'm modifying old seminars and panning new ones about design thinking, and problem solving. I have three books to read for school and I m helping build learning targets with colleagues for about 6 new courses.

 I'm busy. 

 Then June 26th comes "me time". Well, not really me time, Stephanie and me time. I can't wait.

I know people outside education laugh at teachers and the time we have away. We have a week in the fall, two weeks at Christmas, two weeks at spring break, and about 9 weeks during the summer. Trust me when I say, much of that time is not spent lounging on beaches. It is spent reflecting and constructing curriculum. The time that is spent truly on vacation is no different than the rest of the country. We need it. We need time to spend with family instead of grading and lesson planning. We need time reading a book for fun instead of reading through our curriculum. The time away helps restore the sparkle in my eye.

We all need time away and time to restore the sparkle in our eye. The Lord can help. It's my prayer every year this time of year.

Dear Lord restore the sparkle in my eye, retire the passion inside me, not just for teaching, but for life, and sharing your love. I'm not down, necessarily, but the weariness of life gets to me. I love you Lord and praise you for your love of me. I know you are with me always. Make your presence known today and every day. Your grace and mercy are always enough for me. Amen!