I grew up on a large farm about 2 hours west of Parkes in a very small rural community. I would spend my afternoons working with my family on the farm and then my holidays would be spent with my cousins and my grandparents on their farms. I remember my grandparents always kept layer chickens. It was our job when we stayed over to check the chickens for feed and water and, of course, to collect the eggs. What I didn’t realise when I was young is that broody hens can become very nasty! I had a particularly bad experience one day when I was collecting the eggs and the hen leapt out of her nesting box and chased me around the chicken pen. As you can imagine, there was much screaming and yelling, many tears and a laughing grandmother on the outside of the fence. Ever since this moment, I have not liked chickens… then I became an Ag teacher. I suddenly had to face my fears. It didn’t matter anymore what I was thinking or feeling. I had to show courage and bravery in front of my students. I had to learn to care for and handle chickens but I also had to teach students how to do it too.
There are many students in my classes, both Agriculture and Geography, who have a similar fear to me. It may not even be a fear of chickens, but a fear can be terrible. As part of my role here at PCS, I believe it is my duty to help students through their fears and to face them head on. We have recently had the Year 7 camp. Part of this camp allowed students to challenge themselves by abseiling down a 13m high wall with only a rope to stop you from falling. This activity always amazes me. Some students are confident on the ground and then when they get to the top decide that it is impossible, some students are fearful until they get to the top and they overcome this fear, but amongst all of this I could see the determination on the faces of our Year 7 students to succeed. They wanted the elated feeling that they knew would come if they faced their fears.
Jesus also tells us how to face our fears. The Bible has many verses and scriptures related to challenging yourself and knowing that you can rely on Him to help you through it. 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control”. If we ask for His help during these challenges, ask Him for a spirit of love and self-control, then we can conquer anything. Our Year 7 students showed these very qualities at camp. They encouraged each other, they prayed for each other, they helped each other through and they showed love when it was most needed.
So as we move into the second half of our term, remember that you can do anything! Face your fears and, just like me, you might find that you can learn to like something that maybe you were afraid of before.
Have a great week PCS,
Kristen
