Kindergarten to Secondary School
As I walk into the secondary school for final exams, I am amazed by our kids. They are all sitting in their classrooms studying without any sound, others are taking a final exam with no teacher present in the room.
No cheating, no talking -just working.
I think back to the first week of school when they asked me if I would teach high school English. I remember thinking I am not qualified for this, the boys are bigger than me, there is no way I will be able to do this! However, I have fallen in love with these high school kids. I love that they are right on the precipice of adulthood. They are fighting to be adults while in need of love and care that children need. I often talk to my mom about one of my “kids” and afterwards she will ask me how old the child is, thinking I must be talking about one of the little kids, but no I am talking about my nineteen year old who just wants to sit and be heard or my seventeen year old who is trying so hard not to cry when she gets hurt on the soccer field but will cry in both pain and comfort into my shoulder as I take her to the hospital.
These kids are growing so fast and in such amazing ways. It is a joy to get to watch them mature and have even a small role in their growth. I love how God stretches us out of our comfort zone to show us His plan for us. As I shared with so many my plans for my time at Restoration Gateway I could not even imagine that God would shape my heart in new ways to care for these big kids who don’t get the same care and affection that the little kids get. There are days that I say the wrong thing or don’t walk over to greet someone who seemed too far away and now someone is mad at me and I feel like the worst auntie. There are times where I have to be firm and discipline my kids and oh does it hurt but I know that one of the best ways for me to love these kids is to pray for them and discipline them so they look less like me and more like Christ. I love how having these kids in my life gives me a picture of what my relationship with Christ looks like. At times, I get upset with God because I feel like He is caring for someone else more than me, and I like my kids will try to ignore Gods love out of a stubborn heart but love wins in the end and I cannot help but return to God. It is often in a quiet moment that I see God’s love is overwhelming and all around me even in ways I take for granted. The fact that I get to pour into these kids because others have heard my heart and listened to God’s call to care for the widows and orphans. The fact that I am sitting here, in a studio in Kampala, while the kids are recording their worship music and I am listening to our children praise and thank God, shows me Gods overwhelming life changing love. Only God saw this moment this time last year! Thank you for being partners in this love to this special group of people!
Jessica