You are Needed... by ##Shalenadiva I woke up this morning with a terrible headache. I felt like my eye pressure was up and I was not feeling well. I started to stay home from church and let the Sunday School department know that I wouldnt be able to teach today. But for some reason, I felt the need to push myself to go to church even if I couldnt stay the entire service, I wanted to teach my Sunday school class. I teach teens ages 12-15 every Sunday. While eating breakfast before class, I started talking to one of my new students. I knew he had a story, but I didnt know many details. Within minutes this 15 year old shared a heart wrenching story. His mother died from cancer when he was twelve and since then hes been in 3 foster homes. His father isnt in the picture. As he rattled off his experiences at the foster homes, he kept stating they didnt care. He told me how the foster parents let him do whatever he wanted and didnt care. He really wanted them to care, but they didnt. The third foster parents are Christians and bring him to my church. When he spoke of them, he smiled and said, They care about me. When I heard these words, I heard a small voice whisper, This is why I needed you to be here this morning. Tell him and the others that they are special. Ive been working with children in my church for almost a year and Ive noticed that they can be very guarded. To me, it seems as though they feel as if they have to be perfect and cant make mistakes. Their answers are carefully worded and they act as if they dont deal with normal teen pressures.I know because I used to be a church kid and felt the same way. With this in mind, I shared my testimony and met the kids where they were. After I shared my story and started asking questions, the kids began sharing their stories and revealing cases of bullying, low self-esteem, self-doubt and anger issues. I told my students that I use Gods word to combat negative thinking. I shared Psalm 139:14 and Jeremiah 29:11. I kept telling them that they were special because God said so and I kept reiterating the scriptures. Their eyes would light up every time I told them they are special, especially the young man I spoke to before class. My class was awesome this morning. We laughed, shared stories, and encouraged each other. In the end, each student shared what they got out of the lesson. They all got the message. When it came to the young man from breakfast, he simply said, I am special. My heart was overjoyed! Im sharing this to let you know that you are special, too and that people need you. Its easy to think that just because you are not in the limelight or out in front that your work doesnt matter. Thats not true. I KNOW I made a major difference in the lives of my students today. Know that you make a difference, too. God sends people your way because He can use YOU to make a difference. Lastly, especially my church folks, can we just meet people where they are and be real? Talk to people. Listen to them. I had this incredible experience today because I talked to my student and listened to him. If only we can move beyond the Im so blessed and highly favored salutations sometimes, we can really see what someone is in need of.
Posted on: Sun, 27 Jul 2014 23:40:46 +0000
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