Sometimes the problem isn’t you.

As I was biking home from work today I realized that I didn’t have to stop once for a water break or a walk break. Thinking back to this time last year I was riding my $20 kijiji find bike that had broken gears and a chain that spent as much time off of the bike as it did on. I recently bought myself a brand new bike. It isn’t the prettiest bike, but it rides beautifully. I had been biking with a broken bike for so long I had forgotten just how easy biking can be. I don’t have to stop every five minutes to fix the chain, or take a break. I had gotten so used to my old rickety bike that I had started to believe that I was just really bad at biking. I mean, a 15 minute bike ride would take me 40 minutes.

As I reflected on my new found biking abilities I started to understand a lesson God has been slowly revealing to me: sometimes the problem isn’t you.

This school year has been a really trying year. I have had constant conflict with a set of parents from my class. From day one I have been questioned about everything including, why their child is sitting in a certain seat (we change seats every week), where their child’s possessions are (sometimes they have been in his hand), and even recently I was questioned on the outfit I was wearing. Even though I spend the majority of my life at school or prepping for school, nothing seems to be enough for their child. I have spent the year praying about it, stressing about it, having nightmares about it, but it wasn’t until today on my smooth bike ride that I understood it.

When you are constantly riding a broken bicycle, or going through a negative situation, you start believing you are the problem. Well sometimes you may be part of the problem, but in situations like these, let me tell you, you are not. No matter how good of a cyclist/teacher you are, you are not very effective of you are working with brokeness. Let’s pray for those whose brokeness leads to negativity, and let’s rejoice in knowing that even though our life isn’t always easy, it is always God filled, and it is certain it will become smoother.

“I will go before you and make the rough places smooth”

Isaiah 45:2