Editor’s note: On Sunday, the Texas Supreme Court temporarily blocked mask mandates in two of the state’s biggest counties, upholding Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting them. As school begins across the country, some districts in Texas, Florida, and elsewhere are defying mask mandate bans, in some cases risking school funding. Teachers and administrators are preparing for a year of unknowns as the Delta variant rages among the unvaccinated.
Tammy Stallcup has been teaching junior high and middle school choir for 34 years in Texas public schools, primarily in Odessa. Now teaching near Fort Worth, she begins her 35th year this fall, and wrote this prayer for teachers.
O, God,
you are the Great Teacher,
the Ultimate Creator,
the Divine Encourager,
the Tender Comforter,
the Eternally Patient Guide.
Everything we need to be for our students, You already are.
When we doubt our abilities,
remind us that You multiply and bless our efforts.
When we do not know the way to reach a struggling student,
remind us that You give abundant wisdom when we ask.
When we have good days ahead,
let us be thankful.
When we have difficult days ahead,
let us be thankful,
knowing You use both to make us better for You and the lives we touch.
When we feel burdened by the pandemic that continues to plague our world,
by the emotional fallout we and our students continue to experience,
give us peace
knowing you see and care about our physical and mental health.
When we feel angry about leaders and systems that fail us,
move us to action and save us from hopelessness.
When we fail to be who we need to be through action or inaction,
forgive us,
show us how to do better,
strengthen us to make apologies where they are needed,
help us to forgive ourselves.
When we are tired emotionally or physically,
give us the ability to “rise up on wings of eagles,” to “run and not be weary.”
When we experience the joy that is so intrinsically a part of imparting knowledge, of stimulating creativity and thought,
never let us forget that it is You who has given us this gift of being a teacher.
We come asking as those who desire to always be students of the Great Teacher.
Amen.
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