Nurturing the Teacher's Soul

I am often comforted that Jesus’ disciples experienced fatigue from the work to which he called them. After the disciples return to Jesus from their work of ministry to surrounding towns, Jesus recognizes their tiredness and invites them, 

“Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31).[1] 

So how do we, as teachers, “come away and rest awhile” during a busy semester? 

My friend Hannah, a middle school teacher, describes her first year at a new school back in the US as unexpectedly hard, stressful, busy, and decidedly not restful. Now in her second year at the school, Hannah explains that she has found peace and a restful rhythm that has made a difference to the sustainability of her classroom life. When I asked Hannah how she found rest during the semester she said, “I prayed that the Lord would help me find joy in what I do.” When Hannah embraced joy from the Lord, she felt a significant release from stress. 

I am struck by this connection between joy and rest, because it echoes God’s own relationship to work. God worked on creation for six days, and when He finished creating on the sixth day, He saw that “it was very good,” (Gen 1:31) so “he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done” (Genesis 2:2). Hannah’s experience of finding rest during her teaching semester by embracing joy echoes passages such as Genesis 2, because God rejoiced over His work, and embraced rest on the seventh day, making the sabbath.

Paul also elaborates on rest when he speaks of rejoicing in Philippians. To Paul, the consequences of rejoicing (Phil. 4:4) are peace (Phil. 4:7), specifically, “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.” Who of us doesn’t need peace amidst a busy semester, and all that entails? To have peace means that I am at rest on the inside, even if my outside circumstances are a bit chaotic. Paul points out at the end of verse 7, this peace has to be anchored in Christ, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

But what does this practically mean? What does embracing joy mean? How can we practice the sabbath during a stressful semester? How can we find joy in students, classes and circumstances that are not always joyful? How can I rest during a hectic season of teaching? And how can I find that peace of rest in Christ?

From Hannah’s story, I draw three practical ways we can increase our rest during a semester: 

1. Consider things that bring you joy. Make a list of these things and brainstorm how you can incorporate them into your schedule regularly. Don’t overlook the little things that may bring joy. Examples could include a carefully crafted latte, conversations with a friend, or watching the sunset. Do you find joy in running, music, cooking, or scrapbooking? Try to incorporate these joys by bringing them into your regular schedule.
2. Read a book on sabbath rest. (I recommend Ruth Hayley Barton’s Embracing Rhythms of Work and Rest.) Then, prioritize one day a week (it does not have to be Sunday) on which you set aside work and focus on the things that bring you joy. Be intentional, commit the day to the Lord, trusting that He will provide for the remaining 6 days of work and that He desires for you to rest (Matthew 11:28). 
3. Seek the Lord’s peace in Christ by finding time to worship. Whether that is corporately or individually, find creative ways to praise God for who He is, and who He made you to be. If you find joy in exercise, then do it as worship, and see what happens. Ask God for His peace and be attentive to ways, avenues, or things to which He may lead you that can help your soul find rest and peace.

There is no magic formula on how to find rest during busyness, because so much of that depends on the unique and individual way God created us. But, we can be assured that rest is part of God’s good plan for us and that He wants to nurture our soul, regardless of our circumstances. 

Tessa Tubbs
After teaching at Black Forest Academy, Tessa now works with TeachBeyond’s Global Member Care team the Spiritual Direction and Formation Coordinator. Her responsibilities include offering spiritual direction to anyone who is interested, as well as creating devotionals and bible studies as resources for members. Tessa has written the book Spiritual Disciplines for Creative Learners and has appeared on TeachBeyond’s Podcast. She loves to blend art and spiritual formation.