I could list several times that I felt I could not succeed. In my early years as a teacher, I came quite close to quitting. In the late 60’s the school leaving age was increased from 15 to 16. Those who just had to stay on another year were put into a large group called the ROSLA students. There were approximately 50 of these lovely children in the school where I taught. Guess who had to teach RE. to them, en masse, last lesson, Friday afternoon. There were other teachers in the room for crowd control. The kids won. I loved teaching RE but this went far beyond tolerance level.
The Methodist covenant service has the following commitment
I am no longer my own but yours.
Put me to what you will,
rank me with whom you will;
put me to doing,
put me to suffering;
let me be employed for you,
or laid aside for you,
exalted for you,
or brought low for you;
let me be full,
let me be empty,
let me have all things,
let me have nothing:
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to your pleasure and disposal.
How often do we need to remind ourselves of this annual commitment?
Tough, isn’t it? But it’s worth a reminder.