Tuesday was our last day of our current jobs.

Nate attended his last staff meeting at First Presbyterian.  I cleared off Spanish bulletin boards. We emptied our desks and turned in our keys.

Amidst the end-of-school chaos, I too was infected by the “senioritous” bug that was going around the 12^th graders weeks prior to graduation.

This battle with my self-diagnosed “teacheritous” was a tough one.  I was tempted to trash the lesson plans and show a movie. Take the kids outside. Let them have their phones. Call in sick.

However, God has called us to not throw in the towel too early. He wants us to finish the race strong. In my case, that meant preparing my students well for their next Spanish class and investing in them. For Nate, it meant continuing to pursue time with students and be the “Game Master” at one last event. The Holy Spirit was tugging on our hearts, calling us to obedience…

²³ Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, ²⁴ since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Colossians 3:23-24

  As we prepare for our move to Kenya, it is all too easy to look past the present and fixate our eyes on the future. However, God has called us to not lose sight of where he has us now, even in these LAST moments.

…and these moments have been treasures. How could we miss them? We have been prayed for. We have been loved. We’ve made new relationships and gone deeper in old ones. Personally, I have had more opportunities to invest in students these last weeks than I’ve had all year. God had so many plans squeezed into these last days.

As I closed my classroom door for the last time, it was as if I was closing a book…finishing a chapter in my life. God has been faithful to sustain us and teach us through our careers in Rome, Georgia. He has provided relationships, experiences and and opportunities that we are so thankful for. Our prayer is that ultimately, the Lord has been honored through our work here at First Presbyterian Church and Armuchee High School.