My Cup Overflows

     Isn’t it amazing how God works?  This weekend, if I am honest, I was feeling a little lonesome – a tad blue.  My family was gone and I was on Ginger care duty, nothing exciting was on the agenda, I finished a depressing book, and I was tired.  That’s a formula for feeling sorry for yourself.  I officially joined the church where I’ve been attending, but the pastor preached too long and so people had to hurry to their Sunday School classes and get out of the way for the class meeting in the sanctuary, so I really didn’t get to meet anyone new.  Talk about a pity party.

     But today, I was back at school, continuing my volunteer stint in Kindergarten.  The children were glad I was there and Amy (the teacher) was glad I was there to help get ready for Open House and Curriculum night.  Several  people expressed appreciation that some of us would keep coming after our two week commitment was over.  Even the principal stopped in with thanks.  Amy invited me to stay for the Open House and I was glad to do it, because I’ve invested in those children, too, and I wanted to see their parents and loved feeling like a part of the classroom.  Amy had to take her own kids home and feed them so I stuck around and washed some tables and organized a few more things and did a little planning for working with some of the children who are struggling with letters and sounds. The Kindergarten teachers who stayed graciously invited me to join them for pizza.

     I checked my cool new Smart phone for messages and found one from the Gwinnett County Substitute Coordinator saying that I should come for an orientation, class, document gathering and fingerprinting on Wednesday.

     Then the parents came, and they had heard all about Ms. Beaver.  It was humbling to be reminded of the impact we have on children.  Amy went through her presentation and came to the volunteer section.  Then she blew me away as she introduced me and brought out a bouquet of flowers and started to cry.  Well, needless to say, I cried, too.  It brought home again how important the job of teaching is and how hard it is to do it well.  No good teacher wants to do anything less than the best they can for every child, even if there are 28 children in a class.  Amy made me feel like I had really made a difference and few things could give me more joy than feeling like I made a difference for learners and for their teacher. 

It only got better when several parents made it a point to come up to me to talk about their child and how they kept talking about Ms. Beaver.  Truly, I am honored that God through Beth and her church provided me with the opportunity to continue to yse the gift He has so graciously instilled in my heart.  It’s quite likely that this volunteer gig will give me opportunities to sub in this school if all works out on that front. 

     Indeed, I am tired, but my cup is overflowing tonight.