A Sacred Vocation

I absolutely love teaching. The daughter of a British father and an Italian mother, I am fluent in both languages. For 25 years I have taught English at the Language Centre of the University of Florence. For the past 10 years, I have been a believer who intentionally walks with God.

Yet I had never reflected on having a “sacred” vocation, nor pondered what my integrity as a Christian believer meant at the workplace until I encountered Faculty Commons.

In the spring of 2017, one of their staff in Italy gave me a copy of A Grander Story: An Invitation to Christian Professors. That summer, I attended a teacher training course at a prominent university in London and was shocked to hear from my professor an attitude of no ‘tolerance’ towards Christian truth. I realized how spiritually dark universities are.

Back home in Italy, my family took our normal beach vacation, and I brought A Grander Story along with me. After what I had just experienced in London, it was a refreshing read.

I especially liked Heather Holleman’s chapter, titled “Go Early.” In it, Dr. Holleman ponders her response to a student who asked her why she comes to class early every day. “My other professors come late and act like they don’t want to be there at all,” her student tells her. “Why do you come so early?”

Dr. Holleman goes on to explain the ways she sees teaching as a sacred vocation, as an opportunity to enter into the lives of her students and invite them into hers. That’s why she goes early.

This book really encouraged me to speak more about my faith to students and also colleagues. I have prayed for students who have shared their struggles and have asked God for wisdom before lessons.

Once, when I realized my student Carlotta’s birthday actually fell on the day of our class, I brought cake and candles, and everyone sang “Happy Birthday” as in she came. She thanked me by writing the sweetest email, telling me how much that small gesture meant to her because nobody in her family had time to celebrate her. Carlotta and I still keep in touch.

I was asked to give a short testimony to a group of Christian university students. Having first heard of the gospel through a Christian friend at college, I felt honored and really wanted to encourage this group! One of the girls there recognized me, as she’d taken a course with me! Students are awed by true testimonies and find it comforting to know that we are approachable.

And then there was Rosamaria, an older student. A widowed, retired teacher who gives Italian lessons to migrants in Florence, she only missed one class the whole term. When I told her I had missed her and asked how she was doing, she burst into tears and explained that her only daughter had dropped dead in front of her new husband on their honeymoon.

God knows all the stories of our students and He can use us in their lives if we let Him. It’s simpler than we think, for we are part of ‘His’ grander story!