Train Wreck

So I, the college guidance coordinator, became a PE teacher today. The PE teacher planned to be absent and asked if I could take her classes hiking. "Sure," I said. I led a hiking club in the fall and had accompanied her on hikes before. It didn't seem like it should be that hard.

I dressed in my PE teacher best (e.g. dry-wick tee, yoga pants, and hiking boots) and set out from home early this morning. I felt pretty confident until I realized that the eighth hour teacher didn't know she was supposed to hike with me. (We need two adults to safely hike the trails located around our school.) I sent her an e-mail, but wasn't able to resolve the issue before my first hike. The first hike went okay, but came in very close to our time limits.

After the first hike, I needed to resolve the eighth hour issue and eat breakfast. The eighth hour teacher wasn't dressed for hiking, so she decided to do dodge ball with the students, which was actually a blessing, as it meant I could have an hour off.

On my way to lunch duty, I talked to the fifth hour teacher who was to accompany me. He didn't know about hiking either, but agreed to come. At lunch, the seventh hour teacher told me he didn't know about hiking either. He still said he'd help.

I felt pretty exhausted after that second hike. (Each hike was two miles round-trip, partly uphill, and the second hike was from 11:45-12:35.) The group of students was large. We almost ran late. Then, when I got back to my desk, I had multiple e-mails awaiting me in my inbox, a phone call to return, and lunch to eat, all in 50 minutes. A student needed to talk to me. I had text messages buzzing into my phone. Information overload. But I got it all done.

My legs burned that third time up the hill, but I made it, grateful that the eighth period teacher didn't need me to hike with her. The group of students was smaller and more manageable. We got back early. My boss thanked me for my help. So I guess maybe it wasn't a train wreck after all.

Moral of the story? Sometimes we talk ourselves into problems being bigger than they are. Sometimes changes of plans don't really make that big of a difference. Sometimes (probably most of the time), I can accomplish more than I think if I just take things one at a time.

Are you facing a situation that seems like a train wreck? Is life giving you more than you can bear? Don't dismiss the hard feelings, but do realize that it's easy to get sucked into the, "I can't" cycle. Take one thing at a time and see what God will do.