For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 New International Version
Five years ago, I thought my world was falling apart – I had received news from the district I was working with at the time, that I would not be moving forward to the next round of interviews. I had applied for a principal position with a new program and even though it would have been a lateral move, the position would have fulfilled my plan of beefing up my leadership resume. At the same time, our school was threatened of being sued by a company in which we had adopted concepts from one of their books. These principles had helped to transform our school culture and had become a staple in our learning community.
Although both struggles were unrelated, it would take these two lessons to push me to take a risk I never would have taken otherwise. I left my job as principal with no promise of pay to pursue the plan that God had for my life.
Today, I am traveling the country, sharing a message of empowerment and the importance of assessing our personal culture to create dynamic school culture! I am now sharing the message from my own books (I’ve written 4 books since COVID!!) and am building my own school programs to support leaders and schools in integrating ways to support the mental and emotional well-being of students, teachers, and families.
When I look back over the last five years, I can see how every single struggle (lesson) had meaning and how all of them were necessary to fulfill God’s plan for my life.
As we prepare to embark on a New Year, remember that there will be struggles. Every great story has an element of struggle. Just as we create lesson plans for our students, God creates lessons for each of our lives. They include these challenges that are meant to propel us closer to our learning goals. Everything happens for a reason and when we put our trust in his plan, our deepest desires will magically begin to unfold.
Last week, Kermit and I had the opportunity to visit 6 schools in 5 different states- sharing a message of courage, grace, love, and the power to simply BE! Amazing what can happen when we trust in his plan. When everything seems to be falling apart, it’s really God modifying his lesson plans to move you closer to your learning goals.
Like overprotective parents who help their kids with difficult homework assignments, we will sometimes want others to come and make our lessons easier. Remember, these lessons were individualized and planned specifically for you. You will need to embrace the struggle and focus on the learning rather than the problem.
All of our experiences - those we consider good as well as those we consider bad- allow us to create the beautiful lives that we have today. A positive life is not about things going well all the time, it's about giving ourselves permission to feel emotions such as fear, guilt, and sadness and knowing that this low level energy works in partnership to bring us out of the darkness into our light.
Wishing you a school year filled with love, joy, and the courage to trust in God and allow his plan to unfold.
Niki Spears
Author, Motivational Speaker, Founder of Creative Culture for Schools
Our travels last week included Arkansas, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, and California!
