The File

Keep a file.

There will come a day (or more than one day) when someone will write or say or yell untrue words which will crush you. You will reread them, analyze them, and listen to their echo in your ears. Your heart will race and in response you will yell into the air. You will cry. The person and his/her untrue words will attempt to redefine you. 

Run to the Word. Anchor your identity in the One who formed you in your mother’s womb, the One who has ordered all of your days, the One who predestined you for adoption to the praise of His glorious grace. Read Truth until you remember. Recite it out loud and walk in it. 

After a while, pull out from your file the words others have said about you. Read through the thank you’s. Review the feedback. Recall the moments of parents, students, and staff who have stopped you in the hallway, at the volleyball game, at the band concerts to affirm your actions, your calling, your heart.

Photo by George Diama on Unsplash

Don’t forget to fill someone else’s file. Write the appreciation note. Pray over your colleague. Send coffee to your child’s beloved teachers. Notice the little things and say thank you. Abide in the vine and bear much fruit. Do not become weary in doing good.