“If a man be gracious and courteous to strangers, it shows he is a citizen of the world, and that his heart is no island cut off from other lands, but a continent that joins to them.” – Francis Bacon, Sr.

One of the details of my job as an assessment editor is to collaborate with a group of 9 teachers from various parts of the country to develop items for the next generation assessments. The window to work with the teachers is very small. I have about 6 weeks total to train them on what the assessments should look like, develop them as item writers, and train them how to enter their items into my company’s internal system as well as review/critique/accept their work.

I have one teacher in particular who is not so tech savvy. She can never figure out how to attend our online meetings (webex), she can never figure out how to call into the conference calls, and today I have discovered that she will not be the so-called “expert” of item entry.

Her lack of knowledge takes a toll on me. It interrupts my work flow, it puts more of a burden on me. As she continues to asks questions, sometimes the same ones, I begin to tense up. I think to myself, “why is she not getting this??” I have explained this or shown her how to do this time and time again.

Then my thoughts turn inward. Is this how God reacts towards me? Does He get a bit irritated when I cannot get it right the first time and I require Him to help me time and time again?

Considering my track record, I’m pretty sure the answer is no.

Just as I require a lot of grace in the areas of my weaknesses, this teacher will too. I can continue in frustration or I can be a grace giver and step in and help in her area of need.

The choice is simple, really. Do I want to give up something that I have to make life easier for another?

It’s a choice. Yes or No.

So, what kinds of choices have you made today?