I wasn’t sure what to expect when I entered my teaching studio on the first day of lessons. I had come from having zero teaching experience on the violin, and now I was about to start giving private lessons to 24 beginner to early-advanced students whom I had never met. I felt so helpless and incompetent.

But through God’s strength and the copious notes and debriefing calls with the previous violin teacher, I’m pulling through. And now that I have a better idea what I’m doing, I’ve begun to enjoy it more. In general, my students are a joy to work with, and it’s exciting to impart secrets I’ve learned that will improve their playing. I don’t know if I would say that I’ve fallen in love with teaching (although I very well might after some time), but it certainly isn’t a daily drudgery to endure every week. I very much look forward to watching the progress of my students!

My students aren’t the only ones benefited. Something that I’ve realized from these past two weeks of teaching so far is that teaching has improved my own violin playing. Now I’m remembering to apply the same techniques I constantly tell my students to do, and in my practice sessions I’m using the same principles of learning that I use in lessons. This has advanced my own playing, which I did not foresee happening. It amazes me. God’s wisdom and foresight in bringing me here this year confounds me. It hadn’t really made sense before why God wanted me to do this. I had thought that spending at least some time in school would better prepare me for this year’s teaching. But now, I’m starting to wonder if actually this will prepare me for college more than college would’ve ever prepared me for this. Isn’t God fascinating?

The other day, my student came out of the car holding a bag for me. “This is for you, in case you haven’t eaten breakfast yet,” she said. Inside was a sandwich and some apples and dragonfruit slices. She had bought me breakfast! I melted. Last night, one of my students’ dad told me, “My daughter wrote in her journal for school that her first lesson with you was so fun, she wished it could’ve gone on all day!” Such are the rewarding little moments of being a teacher.

So there are good days. And there are not-so-good days. I’ve learned that there is a real spiritual battle going on. Yesterday I felt strangely tired, quite stressed, and so unmotivated to teach. I went upstairs to my studio and rebuked any demonic influences from being welcome in the room or in my thoughts, and I asked the Holy Spirit to fill the place with peace and to give me strength for the day. The weird fogginess lifted, and the motivation to teach the next students returned. I know that God wants to use me here, but that means that Satan is desperate to stop me. He will do anything to exchange the joy, peace, and love I have found in Christ for anxiety, impatience, and indifference to reflect to my students.

Serving God is not easy. But in Jesus I have an infinite supply of strength and energy. And it is His infinite love which compels me. He has overcome, and He is the reason I am here.

Please continue to keep me, this project, and our students in your prayers. I appreciate the love and support. Remember that God is stronger than anything we face, and that “we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Rom. 8:37.

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