By: Sahira Kodra

Looking back at the past few years the one word that comes to mind is heavy. The issues Christians and teachers are facing feel monumentous. Many leaders are reminded of the William Shakespheare play that created the idiom “heavy is the head that wears the crown.” We often hear about the burden and difficulties of being a leader. When I applied for the Master’s of School Leadership program, many of my friends wondered why I would want to pursue being a principal or any type of leadership role in education. This is an unprecedented time which is why we need leaders who recognize the responsibility of their role and can guide us. We need leaders who practice patience and acknowledge the struggles we are going through.

I have found these leaders and the program that will help continue to shape them. This program orients the young leaders who are wanting to make a difference. It has reoriented the seasoned leaders who have felt this shift in education. This is a program that brings together educators from different walks of life and points us in the direction of the good work that is called to be done. As a program our God given strengths are utilized to help us grow in our capabilities and walk alongside others to grow theirs.

As Dr. Jon Eckert says in his book Just Teaching “life giving teaching flows through relationships. These relationships should be grounded in truth and love..” (Eckert, 10) Here’s a link to read a portion of how Jon expands on this idea.

The Baylor Center for School Leadership has created a Master’s program that creates a Christ centered community who build relationships with one another. When I was asked the message I wanted to spread when writing this article the word that kept coming up was relationships. This program has taken my busy exhausting schedule and turned into something life-giving.

Am I less busy than I was before? I most certainly am not. I am not the expert in balance and can’t give you a list of things that magically make the load less heavy. Believe me if I had it I would be sending it to everyone I knew. However, I can share the one thing that has changed my outlook on this idiom.

The crown doesn’t feel as heavy and the work doesn’t feel as exhausting when you have Christ-centered relationships who are working collectively to do good work.

Find these people. Find these relationships.

As Proverbs 11:14 says “when there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”

While I haven’t mastered not being exhausted I am so blessed to be a part of a program that is growing me to be better. I’ll keep learning and sharing how I’ve changed.