Sometimes things happen, words are said, events enfold, and the lack of human intervention into how they enfold makes me thing that the events are fully and completely a God thing.
This happened last week.
I have the privilege of co-leading a homeroom at the high school I work with a teacher who is about as laid back as myself. We both want the group of students to feel that it is a place of freedom, of acceptance, of our genuine concern and interest in them. We do not meet that often for homeroom events, but both the teacher and I are intentional at catching up with the individual students when we see them in the hallways.
Recently we had a homeroom event scheduled and I was feeling insecure. The goal of the event was to consider three fundraisers that are happening in our school over the next number of weeks (through a number of videos and discussion), and to commit, as a homeroom group, to a specific fundraiser and goal. If I know one thing about myself, it is that I am NOT a salesperson! And the thought of failing miserably with these very valid, very worthy fundraisers put a true spirit of heaviness within me.
Thankfully, I do not lead this group alone!
The teacher spoke of having a passion for helping others, and of helping others out of that passion rather than just obligation, pressure or guilt (I was secretly ‘amening’ her message). Then the discussion, from the students, went a little downhill … although it was wonderfully honest and sincere. The overall comment was:
“I can easily donate _____ to one of the causes, but it really does not have any real meaning for me.”
So, then the teacher asked them, “what do you want to do to help someone else?”
The door to transparency was opened, and what followed, well, I believe was nothing less than a God thing.
It became apparent that the students were looking for something or someone to help that they could relate to, that they could more personally know to whom their gift, their money was going.
For whatever reason, I mentioned a local family (a single dad and two sons) who was being given Christmas gifts by the staff of a retailer I was taking a student to for Work Experience …
Instantly questions started firing:
“How old were the kids?’
I thought there were two boys, about thirteen and about ten.
“What did they like?”
I wasn’t sure, but said I could find out later that day.
“Did one of them skateboard?”
… this is where one of the students became passionate. Not a student who I would have expected to become passionate … one who spends more time with administration that with classroom teachers. His tongue was loosed … “I’ve got lots of skater t-shirts, and even new jeans that I don’t wear,” and on, and on he went.
The resulting conversation was that I would get the details for everyone, and see if we could piggyback on the retailer’s staff gifts. The students (and teacher and myself) agreed to bring in $5-10 each, and gifts for these kids would be bought. The students left the room … excited, passionate!
The teacher and I were pumped! And oh, how we hoped and prayed that one of the sons was into skateboarding!
Well, the store agreed to allow us to join in … and maybe even join in the delivery of the gifts.
I was wrong about the family …
It is a single father, but there are three kids:
a seven-year old boy (who loves baseball),
a nine year old girl (who loves things frilly),
and an eleven year old boy … who “loves skate shoes, skateboarder clothes, skateboarding …”
I believe it was all orchestrated by the hand of God …
itsawonderfilledlife 