No, I’m Not a Teacher

It’s been a while since I posted. (I always say that. I should just leave it as a given, right?) I’ll be honest, my silence stems from a period of darkness in which I had no light to share, no insights to offer, no wisdom to enlighten. Maybe I’ll touch on that in the future. For now, I want to focus on the good.

My pastor recently handed out a spiritual gifts assessment to members of our congregation.

I’m glad he did this. I often feel that mothers—homeschool mothers in particular—get pigeonholed in their ministry and service options. “Hey, you have kids! You obviously need to be in children’s ministry!” As if, because I have children, or because I homeschool my own children, my main and only gifts must be in teaching children. Maybe they are.

Maybe they aren’t.

If I’m honest, I love teaching students who are focused and eager to learn. It gives me a charge. I absolutely hate having to tame a room full of monkeys who would rather be doing anything but paying attention to the words coming out of my mouth. I quickly become frustrated and short-tempered. Just ask my children.

As I expressed it to some new-made friends this weekend, “I’m good with my own children (sometimes). I’m not (necessarily) good with your children.”

I’ve spent years being frustrated by this. Perhaps you’re frustrated, too. That’s one reason I was so happy to see the results of my own spiritual assessment.

First on my list: pastor/shepherd.

Not the shepherd. A shepherd. And that doesn’t mean I’m going to head out to seminary. Heavens, no. But notice that my main gift isn’t in teaching. Goodness, it’s not even second or third. It did make me stumble for a moment. If this is my gift, where do I belong? If my gift isn’t teaching, should I even undertake to teach my own children?

(Caveat here: I’m not saying that because you aren’t naturally strong in an area that you—or I—should never stretch ourselves to grow in those areas. I’m simply talking about the areas that are naturally strong already.)

Then I took a breath and let it sink in. I’m not gifted to be a teacher. I’m gifted to be a shepherd. This isn’t at odds with my role as a mother, a homeschooler, a volunteer. I don’t simply teach my children. What do I do on a daily basis but lead, shepherd, and disciple my children?

When I step into a volunteer role, I stink at teaching. I’m much better as a mentor, coach, or cheering section. I don’t want to teach from in front of the room or lead a crowd. I do want to walk beside and encourage growth.

Maybe you aren’t a teacher. Maybe you aren’t a shepherd like me. But your gifts, whatever they are—and you do have gifts—still apply. Read that again. Your gifts apply to your life. Your gifts are the gifts that are needed here, now, in your life, for the people and circumstances around you.

If you are a giver, you give sacrificially not only with money but of your time and abilities, spurring others to generosity.

If you are a servant, you serve those around you in ways big and small, and model that service to others.

If you are an exhorter, you tell others the truth when they need it and inspire others to speak the truth boldly.

There are so many more gifts that people bring to the table. The point is that they are all needed. They all apply. That’s why Paul referred to the Church as a body. We do such different things in different ways, but function together as a perfect whole. This is still truth if you’re a mother or a homeschooler or carry any other role in life.

For me, realizing that I don’t need to be a teacher just because I’m a homeschool mom, because I am already gifted to be a shepherd, was incredibly freeing. I hope it’s freeing to you to realize that you don’t have to fit into a mold. The gifts God gave you are exactly what you need. You have only to learn how to use them.