Saying Goodbye

Yesterday I hung up my apple/ABC cardigan sweater for the next 2 months.
As I reflect on the school year I see a lot of changes in the faces of my students as well as in myself. If you asked me in December how I felt about my job, I would have shrugged my shoulders and said, "I will NOT be there much longer!" If you asked me that question in March or April I would have said the exact same thing. Then May rolled around and the Lord did something in my heart, something amazing! He put joy in that heart of mine, I looked on the faces of my children and I knew I would never be the same. I let go of my pride and He humbled me. I realized what a privilege I had every single day to drive down that highway and walk through the doors of a somewhat run down school and work in a somewhat small classroom with somewhat underprivileged children. He chose me! That brought me to tears. Of all the people in the world, God chose me to be the teacher of those particular 17 children. He chose me to love them, believe in them, pray for them, and encourage them to be who He had made them to be. On the last day of school we had a party and watched a slide show of our year. The last slide is of the world. After the show I asked them if anyone knew why I had put the world at the very end. They gave me a few little answers and then I told them why. I told them I had done that because I was so proud of them and that I knew that they were ready to go on to the next thing and that the world was theirs because they all had great opportunities to be whatever they wanted to be and that they needed to believe in themselves and not listen to anyone else who was going to tell them otherwise. I also told them that I loved them so much and couldn't wait to see who they would become and to never forget that I believed in them. I got choked up and once again was humbled that God chose me.