Having Littlewood Elementary school right next door to our campus is just too obvious of a sign. To me, it represents an invitation to be salt and light in the world of those who are heavy laden (teachers) and give time in the name of Christ to our community. I mean, do we need flashing neon directions from God? But I was past the elementary years with my children and didn’t quite know how to engage. When Justin Smith did the initial work of setting up a pathway over there, it again became obvious to me that my sign didn’t need to include a 2×4 over the head. And volunteering is encouraged by my employer, even allowing paid time up to an hour a week. It was what people refer to as a “no brainer.”

 

Nevertheless, there were hoops to jump through. Application, scheduling, permissions, assignments… You know nothing comes easy, even if it seems it should be. But now, I am engaging with 4th grade children during Monday morning math lessons, learning their names, their strengths and helping overcome some roadblocks with them. I was dragging last Monday, there was a traffic jam, too much to do at work, and it was raining. Trying to fool myself, I made a promise to myself to just show up, and I can bail out after an hour instead of doing the whole hour and a half. But when I arrived, I realized that the teacher was now counting on me and had me included as part of her lesson plan! The entire hour and a half flew by doing fraction task cards with 3 or 4 children at a time. I learn this repeatedly, that His yoke is easy and burden is light. I was refreshed afterwards, and nothing was missed at work after all. Bill and I are doing this together. It gives us a common experience and something simple and easy to do, something outside ourselves and our family. It gives us a peek into the current situations in public elementary schools and the lives of children of all races and abilities. We are connected to children again, and maybe we can learn from them, how to be like them to receive Gods kingdom.

 

 

Emily Wilson