Today was 5th grade promotion. It was lovely (and, for my sake and sanity, I have less papers in my classroom). After promotion, we had a reception.
Y'all. My heart melted a bit.
One of my students gave me a flower crown. He came over, handed it to me, then walked away. It was really random and I was really confused. But that was something. I'm still wondering: what is the significance of a flower crown in the Palauan culture? You see, this student is from Palau.
A couple of minutes later, his dad asked for a picture. His grandmother told me to put the crown on. I did. We took lots of pictures. Then I walked away to see how my other students were doing.
Five or so minutes later, this student came up to me. He said, "You should visit Palau. It's a very beautiful country and you would like it there." Really random, really sweet. My heart melted. It's still melting. This student hasn't really said much all year and I don't know if I made a difference in his life, but something happened. He was comfortable enough to talk to me. He told me about his country.
There's my happy story. I was able to see God's faithfulness in this (and maybe some confirmation).
Peace.
It's been a hot mess of a couple of days. Everything is really up-in-the-air right now and that's okay. I have noticed, though, that in my lack of knowing what is going on, my brain seems to...become less functional.
So, to share in my joy, learn from me. Sleep more when life is crazy, slow down, and don't think so much. Anyways, here's some stories from my week.
1. Monday. Morning. My carpool buddy and I were driving separately because I have to take a ton of stuff home from school. I leave my apartment. My tire is low. 17 psi. Oh, yikes. I got halfway to fill up on air, realized I had forgotten my wallet. Shoot. Had to go back to my apartment. Ran inside...got it...left. Went back to the gas station to fill on air. Didn't have cash. Asked if I could get cash back from counter. Rejected. Almost cried. Didn't. Used ATM. Got charged $2.25 because it wasn't my bank. Changed the 20 dollars I got out for smaller bills...and four quarters. The air costs 75 cents. That's a thing. Ran back out to my car. Mud is wet. Mud is slippy. Mud and my lack of awareness at 7:20 causes me to slip...catch myself...and fall harder. Mud all over my pant leg. People saw me faceplant...and didn't help. They did look at me, though. That was a good time. Felt like a movie star. Anyways, I put in the quarters. THEN. I couldn't figure out how to work the machine. I thought it was the way my tire was pointed...so I drove forward like one foot. It wasn't that. I'm just incompetent at using machines. Took one minute, but I got it going! Filled up my tire. Like a bro. Held back tears. Got into my car to drive to school. It was 7:26. It takes me 25 minutes to drive to school. I needed to be there by 7:40. Called my school secretary. She was quite kind. Hung up the phone. Then I called my mom. Then I cried. And laughed. Because the morning was hilarity and a half and I'd only been awake for about an hour when all that happened.
2. Today, while bringing my teaching jazz to my car, my students and I made a line to my car. The weather was a bit cool, sunny, and peaceful. We walked to my car. Put everything in it. THEN. The wind started to pick up and the weather went crazy. Jesus provided five minutes of calm weather to put things in my car!
3. I lost my keys today in the classroom. We searched for like 20 minutes. High and low. Through bags and boxes. Found them. They were in my jacket pocket.
4. This past weekend, my mom and I went to Oklahoma. I was SO PROUD of myself because I turned the air off and I was going to save so much energy. I got back home...and the light was left on. The kitchen light! How embarrassing. No earth saving happened that day.
5. Today, I met a new neighbor. Oh, wait. No. I had lived in Smurthwaite with her...for two years? Maybe three? I don't really remember. Dana! This is you. What a blessing this is - I'm sorry we've lived so close for 10 months and we didn't know. But now we do! 100 feet away (okay, probably more...I'm not spatially intelligent). What a blessing!
6. On Sunday, when mom and were driving back from Oklahoma, we were texting her friend about the possibility of a potential roommate. Asking all sorts of questions, figuring out a time to meet. She came by that night. Questions were asked. Questions were answered. Roommate is something I will have. This cuts rent and bills in half. I am humbled. Thank you, Jesus. *oh, look, my eyes just got all watery*
There's six stories. There's probably more. But I can tell you this: Jesus is good. Jesus is sovereign. Jesus takes care of me.
Peace
