Hugs, Tears, Ties, & Play

Today started rough with the kids.

During homework time they were very chatty and I had to split several friends up temporarily to get in a solid 30 minutes of productivity. So, I played the bad guy and laid down some seemingly fair ground rules.

"You can sit by your friends as long as you don't cheat, you whisper if you are helping each other, and you are getting your work done."

Not long after the rule reminder, the roar of chatting, yelling, fighting, whining, giggling, etc. started again. So, I walked around and gave "one last warning" before I asked individuals to move to a less tempting area. After the final warning there were a few that had the audacity to get loud and off-topic again so I stayed true to my word and asked them to move.

One little girl looked me straight in the eye and said, "No!" I was appalled. I stayed calm, however, and simply picked up her belongings from the table and moved it to an empty table a few feet away. She sat there and whined a little while before moving. I ignored her plea to stay and continued helping others.

Another teacher had overheard the situation, pulled the child aside after homework time, and asked her to apologize to me.

So, this little girl walks slowly up to me, sits beside me thinking I am naive to the reason for her approach, and starts bawling as she barely mutters the words, "I'm sorry". I gently rub her back and tell her that I care for her and want her to be successful in school, which requires her to be on task during homework time. I tell her that she is a good girl and it hurts my feelings when I know she can behave but she chooses not to. Then I hugged her, wiped her tears away, tied her shoes and we went outside to play together.

Reflecting on the day now, I am thankful that this situation mirrors how God treats me. He lays out guidelines before me, I see them, yet, often trail off, despite. Then I come ashamed before Him, knowing He is disappointed, but He hugs me and loves me and makes me aware of my true identity instead of the giving me the wrath I deserve.

The best part is that He doesn't send me on my way alone after He convicts me of whatever I have done against Him. He comes with me. He draws me near to Him, wipes my tears away, ties my shoes, and we go back out to play.