“Remember, if God brings you to it, He’ll bring you through
it!" ~ 2 Chronicles 16:9
Shawn arrived plenty early to familiarize
herself with the classroom, locate extra books in case students ‘forgot’
theirs, find the bathrooms, and scan the bulletin boards for clues to what they’d
been doing lately. It was her first
substitute teaching job - she was terrified!
Her room was next to an emergency exit. “Good!” she thought, just in case she had to
make a run for it. The thunder of little
feet broke Shawn’s focus on several sticky notes that the teacher had left for her. Soon, twenty two uncertain faces stared back
at her.
“Goo . . . ood morning,” Shawn managed to zero response,
just forty four eyes following her every move. She started questioning why she was doing
this. I’m too young; what was I thinking?
They spent the morning sizing each other
up; all of them versus one unproven teacher.
Ughh!
“That's not how Mrs.
Peterson does it.” These kids must be
able to smell my fear, she reasoned.
“You’re doing it all wrong!”
The boogers, various mystery stains, and the ever-grimy hand
prints she collected on her new blouse nudged her closer to the ‘edge.’ By noon, she dropped them off at the
cafeteria, ready to hit that emergency door running. But she stayed; using her down-time to offer a
few quick prayers and finish her sticky-notes of advice.
They returned too quickly.
“I almost wet my pants,” said one.
“Why are you still here?” quizzed another.
Back in the classroom, Shawn continued to mess up: She coughed
during reading time, failed at bathroom protocol and mispronounced enough names
to seal her fate. She was a stranger in
their world. Victory was theirs!
She forgot all about gooey hands and burps and nose picking.
They sat in complete silence, perfectly
calm, learning about baby animals.
“I can tie my own shoe now,” one announced proudly. “My cat just had babies,” another shared. “I like the way you color, are you coming
back tomorrow?”
Shawn did come back the next day, and the next day and the
day after that. She worried about
teaching until she got a lesson from the best educator of all . . . experience. Sharpen the talents God gave you, what's a
sundial worth in the shade?
Teacher, let me be just what they need. Help me inspire them so that learning doesn’t
end at the classroom door. Guide them
through me to love You and open my mind to the lessons they teach. Amen
