Having to Share...

I teach Sunday School and Wednesday night class to the children at church. I've got the 8yr - high school group (seems like a broad range, but our church is small, so max I've ever had in class is around 9 students and most are between 3rd grade and 8th, and my younger ones are brilliant so I teach lessons on a higher level so not to bore the older ones), and I LOVE my class. The kids are kids. They're my kids. They have their good days where they're attentive and clue in to the lesson's theme immediately and their bad days when they don't want to pay attention and they gripe if I give gum instead of lollipops as rewards (to which they know I will take away the "prize" because a blessing is a blessing and should we complain if God gives us one thing when we thought we wanted another...). Anyway, I came to this church when they only had 2 youth workers/teachers (one recently moved to another city, so we're back to 2) and they had been there for a while and were eager to let me join the teaching squad so that we could rotate and no one would be burnt-out. Great!

Now here's the having to share part... Recently a new member has joined our church and expressed interest in teaching. So last night the other youth worker called me and said, "Sis. G wants to teach, so I thought that you and she could rotate with your class. That way you won't get tired or burnt out." Pause. I'm not tired, I'm not burnt out. I'm on a roll and I HATE rotating because we all have different teaching styles and I feel like I sometimes have to reprogram my class when it's my turn again. In my heart I know that it's only fair that I let this other sister teach also because I know I appreciate the chance and avenue to serve in this fashion and who am I to deny it to another. I would not have wanted them to have done me that way, right? Right. So I asked the other youth worker if it might be okay if we just establish that I teach on Wed. and she gets Sun morning. Am I giving her the shorter end of the stick? Honestly... yes. There are more kids there on Wed. and b.c we travel so much on weekends I often have to have someone substitute. So I'm going to offer her Sun mornings. Is that wrong? Am I keeping the big piece of cake to only share the crumbs??? I'm a good teacher (I am. Not bragging really, I just love my kids and know how the whole youth worker thing goes b/c I've been doing it for so long.) and I don't feel it's fair to make me do all the adjusting when "it ain't broke". Sigh, I'll let you know how it goes. ;-) Maybe Sis. G could teach my class on Sun mornings and the Nursery class (2-5 students on average from the baby in church to the 7yr olds) on Wed nites (giving the other youth worker a "break"). That way she gets to familiarize herself with both groups! Yeah, both groups... I think I just discovered the positive spin on how I'm going to present the idea to her and the other youth worker. This solution still counts as sharing, right???

Happy Wednesday!