Tomorrow I will be greeting 111 new students as they walk through my classroom door. Will you pray with me as I greet them with a smile?
I will be laying out my rules, regulations, and expectations for my classroom and this school year over the next week. Will you pray with me that they may see these rules as a symbol of love for them, a guideline for their safety, and a gateway to their education?
I will be learning new ways to pronounce old names and I will be attempting new names that I've never heard before. Will you pray that they may learn the name of Jesus through my kindness?
Over the course of the year, one-hundred-eleven pairs of eyes will be watching me as I instruct, as I plan, as I talk, as I walk, as I love, as I discipline. Will you pray they see Him and not me?
Per the norm of my classroom, I will build relationships with these kids, friendships with the kids, and learn about the pasts they've endured and the homes they come from. Will you pray that I can be a light of grace in the darkness? A figure of mercy? A rod of discipline that is laced with love, compassion, and kindness?
As I meet these kids and I am silently praying that I don't have one of those children, will you pray with me to remember that God knows every single hair on each of my babies' heads? Will you pray that I never forget that He has never abandoned them or me? He loves all of them...even the ones that are difficult to love.
Will you pray that when they see my feather boa and my card games, they see more than laughter? That they see the joy that Jesus can bring?
Will you pray that the days I have to get loud and I have to tell them things they don't want to hear that they will learn that it's only for their good and it's because I want the best for them and I am having to rebuke them?
Will you pray that I learn some time management skills so that I may devote myself fully to this job and not get burnt out too quickly?
Will you pray for my heart as I serve the least of these? Will you pray for The Adversary to not enter my classroom? Will you pray for Jesus to be present always in my classroom, my words, my actions?
Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14
One-hundred-eleven children will fill these desks over the course of the next 180 school days. We have six units of English-Language Arts curriculum to cover, but I want the education to be about more than a textbook; I want it to be about The Word. I might not be able to say everything I wish to say to them, but I can show them...just as I pray I showed the two-hundred-fifty-two before them.
Will you hang this picture on your refrigerator and remember Mama Sandy's babies?
I encourage you to find a teacher you know and over the next week or two to encourage them. The first few weeks are hard. They're all hard, really, but the first few weeks I feel are hardest as you are learning the ropes for the year and trying to give the impression of firm but fair. Encourage them over the next year. A kind word can go a long way when you work in such a thankless job.
Pray for each of us by name. And pray for the new names that we will be learning this school year.
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