The following meditations are excerpted from Called to Teach: Breathing Spirit into Public Education by Lea Mathieu, fall 2009. Available at amazon.com

God In This Place: Genesis 28:10-22

“Then Jacob woke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the Lord is in this place – and I did not know it!’” (Genesis 28:16)

What is the holiest place you can think of? For me, it’s the ocean. I can sit for hours watching the waves and listening to their power. The depth and mystery of the sea is my favorite image of God. Whenever I’ve been depressed or confused in my life, a trip to the ocean has been a sure restorative (Lake Michigan once had to do in a pinch). I’ve sung “How Great Thou Art” as loudly as I could with my toes in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Mediterranean.

For other people, holiness resides in mountains, museums, concert halls, cathedrals or simple churches. I know farmers who feel that way about their fields. Whatever place inspires it, the feeling is the same: Here, in this place with this view and this sound or silence, God’s presence is palpable. You don’t have to consciously pray in those circumstances; you just have to fully be there in order to commune with God.

Now consider this: Your classroom is holy. If the idea seems odd to you, remember that “holy” simply means “set apart.” The connotation is usually that the area is set apart to the service of God, as in a church building. Yet a careful reading of the Bible teaches that holiness is not something we dedicate to God, but rather something that God grants to us, in many different places. Time and again, as in today’s reading about Jacob, completely ordinary places become extraordinary by the revelation that “the Lord is in this place.”

Now your classroom is obviously “set aside” to academics. In general, no other activity takes place there except teaching and learning (and the occasional party). High school classrooms are further dedicated to one particular subject; for example, my old room was decorated with literacy posters and shelves of books.

Now consider this: Why is your room set aside? Why has our society deemed it worthwhile to spend billions of dollars on specific places and people to educate our children in a vast public school system? Common to the many possible answers to that question is a concern for all children, regardless of socioeconomic status or intellectual ability. We believe in the worth and potential of every child, and our schools are imperfect testament to that.

Now put that belief into terms of faith. Your classroom is a place set aside for the intellectual and social fulfillment of every child who walks through the door. The children don’t need to do or pay anything to “deserve” it; we as a society offer it freely. Isn’t that a form of grace? And what is the ultimate source of our service to each other if not our faith in the God who made each of us?

We cannot announce that our public school classroom is set aside to the service of God through service to each of God’s children. But we can know it. And we can acknowledge it every time we walk through the door and remind ourselves that “the Lord is in this place.”

Suggested prayer: Remind me constantly, God, to act in my classroom as I act in my church and every other holy place I sense Your presence. Amen.

Daily reminder: Surely the Lord is in this place.

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Who Sent You? Genesis 45:1-15

“So it was not you who sent me here, but God; he has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt.” (Genesis 45:8)

I graduated from college many years ago with an accidental degree in English and no particular career plan. An advisor mentioned teaching as a possibility, and my answer was, “No way. I hate kids.”

Funny how life works out. When people ask me now why I’m a teacher, I immediately think of the excellent teachers I’ve benefited from in my life. There is Ellen Davis, for example, my Hebrew professor in seminary. When I was the only student interested in third year study, the seminary cancelled the class, but we met weekly over coffee in her kitchen to read the prophets. It didn’t even occur to me until later that she wasn’t paid for her time. I would like to think that I have the same dedication to my subject and my students that she has. If I hadn’t had such wonderful examples, would I be a teacher?

My career has also been shaped by a lack of options. My husband is a farmer and we live far out in the country with few opportunities for professional careers. If I had more choices, would I be a teacher?

Also, happy coincidences have shaped my career. At the same time I wanted to spend more time with our young children, a rare part-time opening occurred in my district. If that hadn’t been available, would I still be a teacher? I don’t know.

But perhaps the most honest answer for my motivations and development would be, simply, “God led me to where I am today.”

This is how Joseph saw his life: a story that began in deep betrayal and ended in deep meaning and worth, shaped by God and not by men. Could he have saved Egypt and his own family if it hadn’t been for all that had gone before? No. Three times in verses 5-8 Joseph repeats the truth that God has led him to the place of his life’s meaning. He lifts his brothers from their guilt and shame, and sees the hand of God resting on them.

Who led you to the place you are now? Perhaps you had a worthy example in your life, or a persuasive advisor. Maybe you, like me, fell into teaching more by circumstance than by design, and have stayed there through serendipity.

No matter how you were led to a teaching life, if you find meaning and joy in your work, then the hand of God was guiding you more than you may have realized at the time. God does not manipulate our fates by tugging at puppet strings, but by placing people and opportunities in our lives, then urging us to choose and act with wisdom, faith, and love. The end result, if we have been paying attention, is to finally arrive at the place God has led us to all along.

Suggested prayer: Open my eyes, gracious God, so that I may recognize Your role in every event of my life. May I find joy in the midst of sorrow, peace in the midst of confusion, and You in every step of the way. Amen.

Daily reminder: It is God who sent me here.