Golly gee wilikers it’s been a week. We’ve got two weeks left in the term before four weeks off in April and I am feeling the weight on all sides.

Academic Weight: On Friday, I taught my last lesson of the year in the AP Chemistry curriculum. We’ve been pushing hard to reach this goal, and WE MADE IT. We celebrated by dancing on the counters- literally. Even with this high note, there’s still a push. A student of mine is leaving the term early for an ACL surgery back in Korea so all the study materials for them to use on break to prepare for the exam needed to be finished this weekend. The students often take “Mock Exams” to help them in preparation- which is a three-hour exam to get all in order.

Extra-Curricular Weight: On Thursday, our Jr & Sr students leave for a week of fun, cultural exposure and ministry insight on their annual “interim” trip. I’m co-leading a group of 14 seniors on a trip to four different locations to do crazy adventures like bungee jumping and white-water rafting while looking at tourism and sustainability in the community (though, honestly, there will be just a little more fun than education ;)) My spare room is loaded up with snacks I collected and my desk covered in paperwork as I’ve been sorting some last minute details like a million waivers saying nobody is held liable in the case of accident or injury.

Friends Weight: This week a friend of mine passed away unexpectedly. While I knew she was in the hospital, I’d been checking social media for the update that she’d turned a corner, not the update that she’d met Jesus.

Family Weight: To top off the week, on Friday my mom went into the ER for dehydration and landed herself in the OR for an emergency appendectomy from a burst appendix. We think this means she’s only got two more of her seven lives left to lose- but who’s counting?

Wednesday morning was rough. After learning about my friend, I jumped in the shower to wake myself up, then called my mom for a few minutes before heading down to make copies. I really thought I was doing okay. I’d known this friend since about 5th grade. We ran in the same circle for many years and were really close for my last couple years in college. When I graduated and moved across the state, we stayed in touch via social media and connected a couple of times on visits home- but the last time we’d seen each other had to have been over three years ago- I figured I’d be okay. I’d take time during my fourth period prep to pray. I could make it through three classes until then.

I was wrong. After an awkward moment in first period where the tears found me, a friend came and stepped in to sub, shooing me off and promising to find sub coverage for the rest of my classes for the day. I found a corner on campus to hide away with my journal and bible for some time in prayer.

Crying in front of students is never fun, and at a place like RVA, word travels fast. I was getting texts from the few students who have my phone number, emails from others, and later in the day, an onslaught of handwritten notes of love, flowers, a handmade pottery mug, sodas, cookies and muffins. The care was tangible. A little awkward, but definitely kind.

One of my favorite notes didn’t even contain a name, just purple pen.

“God is our refuge and strength an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though it’s waters foam and the mountains quake with their surging. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God. The holy place where the most high dwells, God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at the break of day.” Psalm 46

Another note had sweet words of encouragement from 26 different seniors who I had in class last year. Some from students I’d have expected it from, some from students totally unexpected.

By mid afternoon I was feeling emotionally spent, but better. Glad for the time off, I started in on my next set of responsibilities. My NHS officers had been working hard to organize a rummage sale where the proceeds would go towards the benevolence fund for our community. The day was finally here, and I was needed as an adult presence to sign receipts of purchase, validating items had been sold on campus.

Later in the evening, I hosted the fourteen seniors going on this trip with me for our last meeting to give some important instructions before leaving on our trip in just a few days. I’d made it through.

Things were all set for lessons the next day. Thursday came and went. My mentee had texted to see if I was okay, “I’m okay.” I had responded, “Remember how we’ve been talking about grieving death and loss together a lot lately? Now it’s my turn to practice it is all.” We had tea together after school as is our habit and I had dinner with some friends at our only local restaurant. In each class, I’d shared a couple of minutes about what was going on to quell rumors that my mom died, or that I was going to the states and never coming back- ya know, classic hearsay, but also with the hope that something I said might cause some student to stop and think.

Some guys have been running a coffee stand occasionally with their Christmas-gift-espresso machine and their entrepreneurial spirit. I saw the email Thursday night, “Bring your bible for some time of devos to the art porch and support Bro’s Coffee from 6:00am-6:45am”

Since their coffee is better than that of our local coffee shop, I figured this was the perfect opportunity for some great coffee, and for some more specific time with the Lord. I woke myself up early on Friday, opening my eyes to find a litany of texts from my mom, the last ending with “surgery tonight.” WHAT THE HECK!? I called her for the scoop- pain, meds, more pain, cat scan, appendix! Welp.

I was so thankful for the already scheduled time for devos at a time I would normally be sleeping.

I got my vanilla latte- a foam heart gracing the top- and camped out in some Romans, “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later… For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

I went to class, watched students build molecules, smiled and danced to “the molecular shape of you,” an ASAP science parody, as I walked around the room correcting tetrahedral, trigonal pyramidal and linear molecules in my regular chemistry. I blasted “Celebrate good times” for my AP Students at the conclusion of our lesson, right as my mom was at the conclusion of surgery. Some might call it putting on a good face, but I call it choosing joy. Sometimes, really hard things are happening, and the choice is to either crumble in the pressure, or, to dance your way through.

A friend invited me over for dinner Friday evening to let me have some space with people to process, and it was wonderful. I love spending time with her and her whole family, AND, they’ve even met my mom! We laughed together over some of her humor in hard situations, and grieved together the hard of family going through things while far away.

And so, to conclude, I’m asking for prayers. I’ve got a big week ahead, with lots of responsibilities. Mom is doing ok- she’s still in the hospital recovering, but my medical friend said this is a very treatable situation, fairly routine and certainly non-life threatening. She should recover from this one pretty quick, whether I’m there or not. There’s nothing I can do about the loss of a friend besides entrusting the situation to the Lord, and grieving “pole-pole,” that is Swahili for “slowly-by-slowly.” I have a big trip to look forward to, and the responsibility that comes with leading fourteen teenagers on the adventure of a lifetime. I have twenty-five kids who’ve just accomplished a massive feat in their academic careers, and need direction on how to best be set up for success between now and May first while they are countries away from where I’ll be responding to their emails. I’ve got suitcases to pack, sub plans to make for my week away, mock exams to copy, study materials to upload online, dinner to eat, coffee to brew, and some sleep to be had. And so life carries on…

Prayer Points

• Please pray for the family of my friend that passed. Certainly lots to walk through. I don’t want to say more here for their privacy, but please pray for comfort, clarity, and wisdom as I’m sure there are lots of hard decisions that need to be made.
• Please pray for my mom’s recovery- specifically that she’d be in a really great place before I leave for interim, so I can go on this trip where there will likely be spotty cell connection and not chances to call and check in on her.
• Please pray for the last-minute details to all be all set for this trip. I think they are in place- but that’s part of that makes me nervous 😉
• Please pray in other ways for this trip, that we would have unity in the students who come from different friend groups, relationship growth, our evening devotional time together, and overall positive experience for all involved as things go off without a hitch!
• Please pray for my heart- I found myself being short with some students and staff members this weekend- while I know there’s a lot going on, it doesn’t give me excuse to take it out on others. Please pray I would be humble, gentle and patient with those around me.