It had taken me a long time to learn this: favor does not require a favor.
If I want favor, it must be unmerited, nothing more. I cannot earn and maintain the favor of others in my life. The students whom I taught, even if they wrote me nice letters, even if parents made warm phone calls to the principal on my behalf, even if parents were so informative and informed, I was never content with the favor of men.
Teaching is rare breed of profession, one that includes the science of preparing and presenting adequate lesson plans with the art of making the most of a diverse group of young people, which for secondary teachers multiplies into five distinct groups of youth.
Teachers are stranded in a shifting world. They must shoulder a growing element of responsibility for standardized tests, yet they command less respect and authority in the classroom. The state has even considered reducing the optional justifications for suspending students out of class, as if defiance of a teacher is not cause enough.
Too much micromanaging has created an undue burden for teachers. The teacher deserves to run class with utmost autocracy, yet with every year the power of the teacher is stripped with lawsuits, meandering micromanaging from fearful administrators, and irate parents who think their children are the greatest gift to humanity since agriculture.
Favor does not require a favor. I do not have to earn my place in the world. I do not have to look outside of myself to find out what I am supposed to be, beyond the Cross, where Jesus Christ died for my sins, died for me, and has offered me His life to live in this fallen world.
For too long, I was still convinced that I had to earn my way through everything. I was convinced that I was totally alone, that I had to make my way all the way, without asking for help of directions, for fear that I would lose my footing or get sidetracked.