What is success?

I have the privilege of teaching at an incredible school. A place that sets the bar high and encourages kids to surpass these standards. An environment where students can grow their passions in the arts, sciences, languages, history, literature, maths...you name it, students at SFS are involved in it. I see the students milling around campus at 7:30am. Ten hours later, I see the same students studying in the cafeteria, practicing on the soccer field, or headed down the hill after a long day at school. These kids are continually striving to be the best.

Yesterday during discipleship with my seven lovely freshman ladies we took a bit of time for prayer requests. Nearly every girl expressed a great deal of worry over upcoming exams, stress about oral presentations, concern about chair tests (placements for music)...you get the idea. There was a general tension in the room over the topic of school. Not only does the school have high hopes for these children, but the parents set strict expectations for achievement as well. These kids stay up all night studying because they have been told that is the way to prepare...this is the way to get ahead. As we wrapped up our time together, my co-leader asked the girls to ponder a question over the upcoming week: "How does God define success?"

At the time the question was raised I thought, "Good one Steph! Way to make the girls think about what drives their lives and what's really important." On the way home I realized how much I needed to be asked this question as well. Don't you love those convicting moments that make you stop and examine your own way of being?!

Here are my honest thoughts about how I have been gaging my own success:

I feel a sense of pride and accomplishment in being able to take care of myself, earning my own money, being a good teacher to my students and having those around me acknowledge that I am doing a top notch job in my chosen profession, having the resources to travel and explore the world, purchasing nice things, having solid relationships with my family members, and being a friend that others can count on. While most of these things bring me happiness and contentment here on Earth, I realized as I thought about Steph's question to our discipleship girls that I'm sorely missing the eternal piece.

I also realized that these things that define my success on Earth are the same things that bring me the greatest amount of stress and turmoil at various times in my life. I stress about what is going on in my classroom and whether my lessons are reaching every student every day...I worry too much about what others think of me and if I am good enough...I spend too much time thinking about money--how much I make, how much to save, and what to spend it on...I worry about how my family and friends are doing and the things I'm missing out on in other people's lives because I live so far away...I take on the troubles and concerns of others far too easily...I wonder whether I will ever find the right man or if I'm destined to be single...I feel the need to plan the future--I want to know what I'll be doing a month from now, six months, a year, five years. This is where I pull back, take a deep breath, and spend some quiet time asking God to help me adjust and align my thoughts about success to match His. I know (and all of you that know me are keenly aware) that if I carry on in my current direction I will allow stress and worry to consume me. I imagine this is going to take a great deal of seeking, listening, stretching, growing, and time.

So, now that I've put the thoughts out there, does anyone reading have any answers? What do you think about success? What would God say about how we define success here on Earth? Feel free to leave your thoughts below...