From a young age, I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I’ve always felt teaching is a way not only to nurture the minds of young people but also to show them they are loved and wanted. Through kindness, integrity, care, and understanding, I can reflect the love of Christ to my students. While I entered this field almost two years ago to teach music to elementary children, little did I know that my children would teach me just as many lessons.
“God wants a child’s heart and a grownup’s head. He wants us to be simple, single-minded, affectionate, and teachable, as good children are; but He also wants every bit of intelligence we have to be alert at its job, and in first-class fighting trim.” – C.S. Lewis
Every afternoon, after dropping off my last class of students with their homeroom teacher, I make my way out to the car rider line to open car doors for students to help them get home at the end of the school day. We have several numbered stations at our car rider line, and if the teacher with the megaphone calls out a name then that kid goes to the number she says. With a hundred or so kids at the end of the day, it can get pretty noisy, so sometimes kids will hear their name, but not the number they need to go to, so teachers try to help kids get to the right number so they can get home.
One day when I was working at car duty, it was as noisy as ever. I was surrounded by loud conversations about who liked whom, what games kids played at recess, what sport practices kids had after school, and giggling over who knows what. Amidst the chaos a kindergartener’s name was called to come to my station, but she wasn’t sure where she was supposed to go because she didn’t hear the number. She was walking super slowly and looking all around her, as if she were lost. I called out her name and motioned for her to come to me, and everything about this child transformed. Her eyes lit up, a huge smile crossed her face, I swear she even started laughing as she ran in my direction. Not just a quick walk, but she full on ran. If you’ve ever seen a five-year-old in full sprint, you can imagine just how carefree her run was. She came to a screeching stop at my station and gave me the biggest hug.
In that moment God spoke to me. In my thoughts He said that is how I should be. You see at first this child was searching. She was looking all around her trying to see where to go. She was lost. But then when you called out to her, she recognized your voice. She recognized the voice of someone who is safe. Someone who loves her and cares for her, and she abandoned all the worries she had before about where to go or what to do and she sprinted to you with child-like joy and excitement that was visible for all to see. You didn’t give her any special instructions, but you simply called out her name, and she ran. Continue reading
Leaps of Faith 