#58: 5 Tips to Overcome Back-to-School Anxiety (S5E10 Growth)

Are you nervous, even anxious, about the coming school year? Join us as Trish Lott shares lessons she learned through her "nightmare year of terror" - specifically, how to overcome back-to-school anxiety.

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When God wants to stretch me, He doesn't consult me because if things were left up to me, my life would always be comfortable.

After completing my second year of inner-city teaching, urban education seemed way too challenging, so I applied to teach at a private Christian school because I thought it would be my dream job and let's be honest more "comfortable".

The truth is, I have spent most of my life seeking comfort while avoiding my long list of fears: you know, fear of embarrassment, fear of failure, and fear of not being liked just to name a few.

During my 3rd year in the classroom every one of my worst teaching fears came true.

My anxiety was so consuming that I wanted to give up nearly every day, but I couldn't run this time.

I was forced to face my fears.

Thankfully, the Lord met me in that dark place, and I have never been the same.

As the school year begins, you may be battling feelings of inadequacy, fear and even dread, but I hope that my story and the lessons I learned will encourage you to push past fear and trust God like never before!

Let me tell you about the season I have nicknamed… "My Nightmare Year of Fear!"

My Nightmare Year of Fear

Within the first 3 weeks of school, the principal's son started a petition to get me fired and a third of the 8th grade class signed it before the boy felt bad and stopped. I found out months later, but the damage was already done.

Another teacher's son spread a vicious lie to the parents accusing me of looking at inappropriate materials on the internet and cursing in class. The parents believed it and never checked with me. I found out by accident and was completely broken hearted.

Before Christmas break, I found out that my students created awful memes making fun of me and spread them throughout the school via social media. I was crushed to know that I was a joke to my students.

Hoping to build relationships, I shared my testimony with a few of my classes only to have some of the students invent graphic details that I never said and once again enrage the parents based on lies. I felt helpless in my attempts to build relationships.

The students were incredibly intimidating and challenged me publically day in and day out!

It seemed that their favorite game was "test the teacher!" Every "trick" I had learned up to this point just didn't seem to work on these kids.

Each day felt like I was auditioning for my right to be a teacher at their school, and the "judges" were not nice.

I had students that were actually looking for me to make mistakes, so that they could tell their parents. When I didn't mess up they would make things up. Many parents treated me cruelly—when they bothered to talk to me at all—and I cried myself to sleep most nights only to face more tears in the morning.

Sadly, I could go on and on about how I was lied about, made fun of, verbally attacked and intimidated by parents and students for a whole year while the administration did nothing but blame me.

The good news is God does not waste pain!

The Lord taught me some powerful lessons during that difficult year.

Sometimes as a teacher your worst fears do come true, but with God's grace you will make it through stronger, wiser and more skilled!

Lessons I Learned During my Nightmare Year of Fear

1. Don't be intimidated by anyone because God is your defender and your protector!

A teacher's world is filled with potentially intimidating people and situations. Yet Proverbs 29:25 says, "Fearing people is a dangerous trap, but trusting the LORD means safety."

Normally we fear people because of what we think they can do to us. The fears can range from the fear of being mocked to the fear of being fired.

During my Nightmare Year of Fear, it seemed like intimidation was lurking around every corner.

Parents. Terrified. Me.

Some parents would send scathing two page emails at the drop of a hat.

Other parents would skip right over speaking with me and go straight to the principal or even higher before I had a hint that anyone was upset.

A few parents ripped me to shreds face to face.

Since students were constantly lying about me for fun, I was never sure which parents were mad at me, and I didn't know if the stories they were told were even true.

My school's administration wouldn't tell me about most of the complaints, but I constantly found out in odd little ways. (I believe God exposed plots against me time after time.)

I really had to battle fear of the future because I feared that lying kids, gossiping parents and an administration that catered to the whims of powerful families were ruining my dreams.

As crazy as it sounds, in spite of everything, I really wanted to stay and be successful at that school. I cared about the kids and wanted to make a difference.

Yet I had to surrender my desires to the Lord.

God taught me that my future was in His hands and that mere mortals could not ruin my destiny—especially a bunch of mean spirited 7th and 8th graders. (Thank goodness!)

God was so faithful to shine light on the schemes of my enemies and vindicate me in so many ways, and He will do the same for you as you trust Him!

I encourage you to surrender all your dreams to God afresh, and don't fear what any person (or group of people) can do to you—especially when you know you are doing your best before God and man.

2. Perfect love casts out fear, so don't be afraid to speak the truth in love!

Because of the fears I have battled, confrontation has always been difficult for me.

In addition to fearing the parents and administrators, I found myself very intimidated by the students. I felt like a baby bunny in a room full of hungry vultures.

Due to the dynamics of the school, the power balance fell in favor of the students which left teachers on the bottom. Sadly, the students were very aware of the impact their parents had on the school, so they felt empowered to intimidate teachers.

My attempts to discipline students was a joke to them. When I tried to give consequences, the parental responses were so outrageous that I became afraid to hold students to high standards knowing that I was unsupported.

When parents spoke to me in hurtful and unacceptable ways, I felt powerless to speak up.

I knew I needed God's strength to help me overcome my fear of speaking the truth because it was eating me alive and allowing grievous sin to go un-confronted!

I learned that in order to overcome fear, I had to ask God to help me love the parents, students and administrators.

1 John 4:18 says, "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."

2 Timothy 1:7 says, "For God has not given us a spirit of cowardice, but of power, and of love, and of wise discretion."

Although it was way outside my comfort zone, I chose to hold students to high expectations, and tell their par