Out of the Mouths of Babes

This is my favorite time of year to work with preschoolers. This is when I see things start to click and kids get excited about learning. It is so fun to see them get excited about reading, writing, and most importantly seeing them getting excited about and sharing what they are learning from the Word of God.

It is always my prayer that the truths they hear from the Bible will truly sink in. I pray that they will truly understand and that it will change their lives, not just learn the right words and answers to recite. These last two weeks, this has been my prayer more than ever as we have been sharing the most important truth ever with these kids. I really want them to understand how loved they are by Jesus and how important his burial and resurrection is.

All of the students were excited about the Easter story, one Newsboys fan even yelled out a few times, "God's not dead, He's surely alive!",  but as time went on it became evident that some didn't quite have all of the details right. Here are a few things that had me laughing and attempting to correct theologically so they didn't go home and make their parents think that we were teaching heresy.

1) "Hosanna" quickly became a go-to answer or random shout of excitement from a few kids at super random times.

2) After talking about the last supper, one student asked me, "Every time you drink apple juice will you remember me?" Sorry sweetheart, I save the juice remembrances for Jesus.

3)Another last supper instance of confusion occurred when we were eating Ritz crackers a few days later and a child asked me, "Are we eating Jesus' skin right now?"

4) We made resurrection rolls on Thursday. Resurrection rolls are made by putting a marshmallow inside bread dough and after it cooks, the marshmallow melts and the kids see the "empty tomb." As we were making these, one student looks at me super seriously and says, "I'm just so sad that Jesus is going to burn up."

5) Later in the day, another student was telling one of his friends from another class about our special snack. He said, "We ate Jesus because He got married!" No buddy, He got BURRIED in the tomb, not married...

6) One last little nugget came while I was spending some quality time with a few students waiting by the bathrooms and asking them to tell me the Easter story. When I asked, "Why did Jesus have to die?" one child very enthusiastically responded, "So we can go to Kindergarten!"

I really do love my job and these kids keep me entertained on a regular basis. I am going to miss this.

As My Friend Lloyd Christmas Would Say...

 

Here we are in April already. Flowers are blooming, Easter is just a week and a half away. I just spent a super relaxing week on vacation with my family, and God is doing some super exciting things in my life.

Yet as I sit here reflecting on all these happy things, I can't help but be a little sad for the things and people I have to say goodbye to. I have been on a roller coaster of emotions as I realize that in a few short months I will no longer be surrounded by the people and the job that I've had for the last 14 years. I know God has a plan, and I am truly more than stoked for what is ahead, but it is for sure bittersweet.

These emotions have hit me at some unexpected times. Here are just a few examples:


--->This is the time of year that my kiddos (students) are talking more and more about what the magical land of Kindergarten will be like. In past years I've said things like, "But what if I miss you too much? You can't leave me and go to Kindergarten." or "If you see me in the lunch room or the hallway next year when you're a big Kindergartener you better not be too cool to wave or say hi." The other day I found myself consoling a nervous little girl with, "You know what? I'm going to be going to a new school next year too. It is kinda scary. I totally get it, but you'll make new friends and God will be with you and help you."

--->Last holidays: Knowing that this is my last chance to celebrate holidays through the eyes of a preschooler has been more emotional than I expected. It was weird thinking that I was possibly putting together my last Valentines, seeing eyes light up about making it to the 100th day of school for the last time... St. Patrick's Day hit me hard for some reason.

 

-->Preparation for next year: Tomorrow night is our open house for prospective parents. This is usually our first chance to meet some of next year's students. I had to ask my boss if she even wanted me there since in past years, the new teachers come in. I will be there since nobody has been hired yet and I can answer questions, but still weird. (On a positive note, I get to ignore all talk of needed professional development hours!)

 

--->Conversations: As the time gets closer to me leaving, more conversations have come up as I've been talking to more coworkers about my plans. I'm excited to tell them my plans, but it always makes me realize how much I'll miss the people.

 

--->Moving on without me: Today the interviewing began to fill my position. That was SUPER WEIRD. It suddenly mad things seem so much more real. 

While life seems weird and saying goodbye is sad, this song has been playing on repeat in my apartment for weeks. In fact, it has been my background music as I write this. I even had to stop writing at one point and get face down before God while singing this and giving all of this to HIM.

The truth is that He really does have every part of me, every part of my future, every person and new life adventure that I will encounter. He has proven Himself faithful over and over again in my life, and especially on this journey of just taking one step at a time in faith. He is so good to me. Take a moment and listen to this song, especially if you haven't heard it before. This is truly the cry of my heart.

Thank you for reading my ramblings, praying for me, encouraging me, and trusting Jesus with me. I'll leave you will a funny conversation that I had with one of my students today(probably about the 100th conversation that I've had similarly over the years) that encouraged me to get the heck out of there.

Student: "How many children do you have?"
Me: "Zero."
Student: "You don't have any kids at your house?"
Me: "Nope. I live all by myself. I don't have any other people at my house at all."
Student (looking worried): "You don't even have a family?"
Me: "I have a family, but I don't live with them. I grew up so I moved into a different house than my parents."
Student: "What about your husband?"
Me: "I don't have a husband."
Student: "Well you better go find a husband!"

So that's it folks, I'm off to find my husband... Okay, not really. That's not why I'm leaving, but if it just so happens to happen I'm definitely not complaining!