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How do we face struggles and hard times? What do we do when we get bad news? I’m learning that life is much better when we face struggles together. This is fresh on my mind due to work.
Personal Fact:
Growing up I watched “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” and you DID NOT want to interrupt me when he was on.
Today’s Fact:
According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary word “Struggle” means “to make strenuous or violent efforts in the face of difficulties or opposition. Or to proceed with difficulty or with great effort.” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/struggle)
Facing Struggles Together:
I am in my 14th year working in the office of a school. I feel very fortunate to have been there for that many years. During that time, you can imagine I have seen teachers and staff come and go, for good reasons and hard ones. I’ve seen my co-workers get engaged, married and have kids. I’ve seen them come back for visits after they retire.
I know that this kind of love for the people and place is rare. But my school has been an environment of support and trust. We have gone through challenges and struggles along the way and there has been some hard times.
I think it is easier to face hard times and struggles together, when we are united around a common goal or calling. After 14 years in education, I can truly say that it is a calling. If you are not called to be in education, don’t get involved. I don’t care if you work in the cafeteria, as a custodian, an office worker or a teacher; you need to be called to do so. The people who are called, stay and unity is built together.
I’ve seen struggles and hard times burn good people out. On the flip side, I’ve seen the staff pull together in challenging times and excel. We have faced weather issues that caused us to pull in students and parents to protect them. We have dealt with every type of family drama possible. We are not perfect, but we pull together and get things done. Most of all we learn from the experience and grow together as a group. As I write this, our staff is facing a struggle and it really has me thinking.
You see one of our staff members was in a very serious car accident. The office staff found out mid-day and we spent time thinking and processing. The school district has a great support system and folks from other schools were called in. After school, we called all the staff in and had the afternoon duties covered. Our principal and assistant principal informed everyone about the accident and her critical condition. Emotions were all over the place. But for those who wanted to participate, we had a time of prayer and intercession for her, which for me was a welcome thing. You don’t see that often in a public school.
As I said in my intro, I grew up watching Fred Rogers. But one of his lessons has been ringing in my ears, heart, mind and spirit since 9/11. In this life, we all go through tragic events and struggles. His advice has helped me walk through these times. Here is his quote.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” (http://www.fredrogers.org/parents/special-challenges/tragic-events.php)
So when I’m faced with hard times, I try to look for the helpers. It helps spur me on to action. When we found out about our co-worker, I had to process. But I saw my principal and assistant principal spur into action and planning. I saw them helping. This broke me out of my inaction.
I notified the professional organization, that my co-worker and I are both a part of, to fill them in on the news. I asked for prayer for her and her family from my church. I helped do things around the office that she normally does.
I found that when struggles and hard times arise, it is easy to get stuck. You can get stuck looking inward and miss opportunities to help others, and yourself in the process. You can also get stuck looking outward and get so busy helping others you don’t allow yourself to be helped.
I too easily get stuck in the later. I’m so focused on helping that I don’t allow myself to be helped or I have it hit me later on when help might not be there. So when our staff stopped for a time to lift our co-worker up, it was great for me. It broke me out of my mindset and allowed me to be helped. It was so touching to see others reach out to me in the midst of their struggles and encourage me. Plus it helped me look beyond the tasks than needed to be done and listen to others. I’ve learned my life is a balance. I can too often get out of whack when I’m not being helped, as much as I help.
I have also experienced inaction as well. I can get so caught up in my own thoughts, ideas, and worries that I can get lost. I can get caught up thinking about what that other person is going through. I can put myself in their shoes. That, in it-self is not bad. The challenge comes when I don’t let those thoughts push me to action.
So I had to stop and think about the things that need to be done at work and make a plan. How can I make sure my co-worker’s job is being done so she can recover and our staff can move forward? How can I help organize support for her and her family?
What I Learned Yesterday:
So what have I learned? Life is so much easier when we are facing struggles together. We all need help facing hard times. We have to look beyond ourselves to help others, but we also need to be helped. We can get stuck in action or we can get stuck in our own thoughts and be no good to anyone. When we are a part of a team, we can help each other find that balance. Then we all can move forward. Life is a hard prospect alone. But with the help of others we can find the balance we need to grow and thrive even in the midst of struggles and hard times.
I’m Geoff Gentry and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
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