Instead, I'm teaching summer school...to 8 years olds. Okay, admittedly, that is a lot like trekking on some adventure. Imagine 7 little jungle monkeys throwing fruit and god-knows-what-else at you then howling with laughter. Just change monkeys to children and fruit to pencils and wads of paper. God-knows-what-else can stay.
Needless to say, it's not exactly what I hoped for when I agreed to work at the camp. Don't get me wrong, I like kids--a lot. I love teaching too. Sometimes, I even like teaching kids. This combination of kids that I have now is a bit of a challenge.
Wednesday was a particularly irksome day full of "he looked at me!" "she touched my pencil!" plus some tears, a little blood, and a whole lot of unfinished homework. All of this by lunchtime, mind you.
I said that my summer wasn't exotic, but on Wednesday, we had curry for lunch. Well, actually, it was Korean style Ottogi curry from a powder packet--the pinnacle of excellence and fine dining, let me tell you. Basically, imagine a mountain of white rice with yellowish curry and chunks of vegetables poured on top, and you'll have Korean curry.
I was sitting at the table with a few of my students eating quietly. I wasn't in the mood for conversation so I imagine I looked a lot like a cow just chewing her cud or a civilized zombie who could sit at the table.
It's hard to say whether I heard it first or I felt it, but before I could comprehend everything that happened, there was a girl on the floor, salad all over the table, and an entire mountain of steaming hot curry all over me.
I groaned audibly. The hot food was painful, even burning through my clothes. Most of the yellow curry sauce spilt on my pants--a particular pair of pants of which I am quite fond. (Yellow curry is instant death to any outfit it touches.) And considering how much my students had
It's days like this that I'm glad God has given his Holy Spirit to those who believe. I was on the edge already with my students, and the one who fell and dropped her lunch all over me was particularly on my nerves that day. My instincts wanted to yell. My instincts wanted someone to blame or to vent my frustrations. Frankly, I wanted to chew this kid out for not being more careful. I could feel the gentle whisper of the Holy Spirit in my heart.
What was more important in that moment? My pants? My personal comfort? My expectations of how I felt summer camp should be running? Or was it the fact that some little girl just needed a little love and grace in a moment like that? I had a choice. My response to the situation would exactly show what I deemed important in that moment.
I stood up, letting the curry slide to the floor. I was still annoyed and upset, but I was going to make the right choice. Calmly, I asked her to get some tissues for me. I knelt to the floor and began to clean. I had her get more lunch while I finished the job. It took a while for my feelings to calm down, but I kept pushing forward to make the right choice. I know God helped me do so.
There will be times--whether in the exotic or daily--where everything seems to go wrong and pile up into one mass of fury. It is so easy to say unkind words or to vocalize our extreme displeasure in a hurtful way. I've failed so many times before at this. I do, however, want to remind myself that more important things are at stake--such as the growth, confidence, and development of a little girl. I hope too that you can be reminded of what is more important in moments similar to mine. I know God was helping me through Wednesday, and I know He'll help you make the right choice too.
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