Good morning, Mr. Parks!” A group of energetic juniors bursts into my classroom. It’s 8:00 AM on another school day. I sigh and smile at the same time. Some days it can be tough knowing I’ve got many hours, days, and weeks of teaching still ahead. But I smile to myself too, knowing it’s all part of the adventure God’s taking me on. After all, He’s helped me, a college student, successfully complete a semester of teaching high schoolers.

On this particular morning, I know exactly what I plan to do for each class. First period is US history. I’ve reviewed the day’s material on the origins of World War I, created a teaching plan, outlined questions for students, planned an activity, and found a video to introduce the topic. I’m glad that today I feel well-prepared.

After a devotional and prayer, I start the video. Click! Oh no, the power’s out! There goes my video.

Fortunately, because I’ve prepared my other material, I can easily transition to an interactive lecture on the factors that pulled nations into war and tie it to a moral lesson about building up versus tearing down relationships. I conclude with an activity: students pick a side of the room depending on whether the statement I read is true or false. Then I ask them why they picked that side, and they recall information from the lesson to explain their choice.

The bell rings. First period is over!

As the second-period students enter the classroom for World History, I smile to myself again. God is with me, and He will keep working things out. Just five more periods of teaching left today!

As I look at the semester ahead, I realize that preparation is imperative. Here are four lessons I’ve learned about preparation since I began teaching in Palau.

Preparation for the expected is a defense against the unexpected. As I described above, the unexpected happened, but being well-prepared made it possible for me to handle it. 

Confidence comes naturally from preparation. Fear dissipates and is replaced with surety. On the days I haven’t prepared well enough for class, it’s at least five times harder to be confident, clear, organized, and engaging.

Every day matters. Some days it feels like I’m building the pyramids of Giza; does placing one more stone really make a difference? But no matter how big or complex a task seems, consistent effort turns the tide. And if yesterday didn’t go well, I still have today. Consistency means asking myself, “How can I glorify God today?”

I can only prepare so much; at some point, it simply must just happen. Last semester, pretty regularly, I must admit, I wanted my lessons to be so information-packed, spiritually nourishing, and attention-gripping that I went to sleep later and woke up far earlier than what was sustainable. I realize now that my lessons will never be perfect, no matter how much I prepare. Perfection isn’t God’s requirement for me, faithfulness is.

The Bible tells us of something else to prepare for. “Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour that ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 24:44).

I’ve sometimes made the mistake of thinking that class prep shrinks into unimportance when compared to preparing for the Second Coming. While it’s true that Jesus’ return will be the greatest event the world has ever witnessed, everyday activities are exactly how we prepare. It’s the things that seem so ordinary, like teaching, working on a project, encouraging a friend (or stranger), and morning prayer that are the massive determiners of our preparation for Jesus’ coming in glory.

Do I do all that I do for King Jesus? Do I live with a kingdom mindset, believing that every word, thought, and action in my seemingly ordinary days is a stone in the great pyramid God is building? I choose to be prepared. I choose to be faithful in the “little” things. I choose Jesus.

“His Lord said to him, Well done, good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).