You snatch me up and drive me before the wind; you toss me about in the storm.

(Job 30:22)
Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. (Job 38:1)
I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm. (Psalm 55:8)

The Storm
Sonya is a pre-k teacher at Applegate Elementary. She has a daughter Brittany who is a senior in high school and believes
her calling and gifting from the Lord is to become a fifth generation teacher. While visiting Texas A&M University at College Station,
Sonya and Brittany talked to the college of education recruiter there. He amazed them with one of the statistics he shared. Research
indicates that after the first five years of employment in education, 50% of all new teachers leave their chosen profession. The Holy
Spirit within Sonya immediately began grieving. There is a storm raging in education today.
Today a child can pass some state exams in the state of Texas by correctly answering 50% of the questions. If he or she can
guess at answers and get an average of one out of every four or five questions correct, that means he/she only needs to really know
and answer 25% to 30% of the questions to pass. There is a storm raging in education today.
Texas Monthly magazine just did a feature piece on high stakes testing in Texas. Research indicated that teacher morale was
at its lowest point in 25 years in the state. There is a storm raging in education today.
Two CEAI Field Representatives recently visited twenty schools in three different school districts in the Houston area.
Everywhere they heard stories of the extreme stress so many educators are experiencing. Never have they seen so many educators
feeling so professionally burdened. There is a storm raging in education today.
As Rhonda, a CEAI field representative, sat in Starbucks talking to Sonya who had shared the new teacher dropout rate, they
both understood that more testing, knowledge, programs, money and personnel were not the answer to calming the storm in public
education or finding shelter from it. They both knew the solution to this problem was God – seeking Him first and following His
principles in their professional lives.
Before these two educators left the crowded Starbucks they simply held hands and began to quietly pray for education. As
they prayed Rhonda had a vision of a story her mother had shared from her childhood. Rhonda’s mother was in church in a tiny
western Kansas town on Black Sunday, April 14, 1935, during the Great Depression. A large prolonged dust storm hit during the
morning church service. In order to get home, her father had to lead the family from tree to tree as they walked several blocks to their
home. Using one hand they put a wet handkerchief over their mouths so they would not breathe in the dust. With their other hand they
had a hold of the brother or sister in front of them. There were seven children in all. They could not see where they were going but they
could feel each other’s hands and they trusted their father who was leading. In this way the family made it home safely.
As they prayed, Rhonda felt the Lord speaking to her heart saying, “Tell the educators Rhonda, this is how they are going
to make it out of this huge professional dust [sin] storm that most people, like those in the Emporer’s New Clothes, will not
even acknowledge. They need to let me, their heavenly Father, lead them from tree to tree. I have set trees of righteousness in
their professional lives to guide them. They must reach out and touch these trees, these people. With one hand they must
cover their mouths and stop murmuring, complaining and speaking judgment and condemnation over those responsible for
these storms. They must speak my truth and blessings, not curses into their lives. Murmuring, condemnation, and judgment
are just more blowing dust. With their other hand they must hold on to their brothers and sisters in Christ with whom they
work in the schools. They have to leave the shelter of the church to get home to me in their professional lives. They must
trust me, their Father, and the brothers and sisters in Christ with whom they work. Tell them, ‘Cover your mouths and hold
on. Cover your mouths and hold on. Cover you mouths and hold on.’ If they will reach out and touch me, through one
another, I will lead them home.”
.

Prayer: Lord, help us cover our mouths and hold on. Help us trust you and unite with the believers you have placed in your schools.
Reflections: Do I believe there is a storm raging in public education today? Am I in this storm? How can I help myself and/or others
who are in this storm? What was my worst storm year in my career and how did I get through it?
Getting Real: Cover your mouth. Stop murmuring or speaking words of judgment and condemnation regarding those around you or
above you in authority. Speak the truth and encouragement. Let God lead you to a Christian co-worker. Simply hold hands and pray.
Make this a habit. Watch what God will do. He will lead you home to safety and protection from the storm.
CLASSROOM LIGHTHOUSE SERIES: The Great Race (For info or prayer contact ceaihouston@sbcglobal.net.) WEEK 12