I have been working with kids at our church for about two
years now. When I started I told our (then) kid’s leader to throw me in a room
and let me go – so she did (thanks Beth). Some Sundays I held babies in the
nursery (LOVE babies). Other Sundays I taught art to fourth graders. A few
Sundays I did snack time and sang “Clean up, clean up….” with pre-schoolers. Now,
for the last year I have been leading Kids Journey at The Hub, which is small Westwinds plant located in Jackson, MI. Every Sunday for the last year I have been
teaching Jesus to kids through art, science, stories and music. In the process,
they have taught me more about Jesus and myself than I ever thought imaginable.
I love being around kids, and I love volunteering at our
church. After doing it for a while, I thought it was kind of selfish not to
share some of my stories with others. If you belong to a church, I feel like it
is important to share your talents and experiences with others. This intent of
this blog is to do that. I am good with kids, and I have a bunch of amazing
experience. Jesus didn't put us all together because he wanted us to be
alone, right?
Here are my top three experiences from hanging out with
kids in the last two years. I could’ve written dozens, but these came to my
heart first.
#3: The worst class ever.
One day, I had the worst class EVER. I had about thirty fourth
graders from hell that descended upon me in the art room of chaos. It was
supposed to be a lesson about Moses and his family, but it turned into some
crazy kids spilling paint and saying mean things to each other. At the end,
there was crap everywhere, none of the kids were listening to me, and I never
taught a word about Moses. I felt like an utter failure.
I started to clean up the room as one of our pastors walked
by. He took one look at me and said, “Are you okay?” Then, I started balling my
eyes out. I told him I felt like I sucked. I told him the kids were crazy, and
I just cried. He told me I was doing ok. Then, he prayed with me (thanks John).
I told our kid’s leader Terri about my experience, and she
told me that I didn't suck. She told me I was amazing, and that I was doing the
best I could (thanks Terri).
Then, the next week, I came back to help. I stood around
waiting for Terri to throw me in a room. Terri, being far wiser than I, walked
up to me and said, “Are you kidding, go home! You have had enough.”
I learned two important things from the class. First, I
learned that in teaching – sometimes you fail. In reality, it wasn't that bad.
No one got hurt, most kids finished their painting, and the kids had a really
good time. I just felt like a failure because my perfect plan didn't go as
planned. That is how life is. Sometimes you have these beautiful plans, and
then sometimes – it all goes to shit. While you are in it, it feels terrible.
However, if you take a minute to look around you quickly realize… life isn't
falling apart, it just feels like it. Second, I learned that my church has some amazing leaders. When I felt like poop, two people were there to tell
me I was doing great, and to tell me to sit out when I needed a break.
#2: The worst kid ever.
In one of my first weeks teaching, I met a kid that I really
disliked (oh man, I probably shouldn't admit that). I was frustrated that he didn't
listen, and mad that he broke every rule I had laid out.
After teaching, I called one of my friends and told her
about the kid. My friend said, “It is your fault. You have the ability to help
that kid, and you didn't do it.” Face. Slapped. Lesson. Learned. Then, my
friend gave me some tips to try the next time I had the kid.
The next time I had the kid, I tried a different approach.
Instead of telling him what to do, I gave him options (duh…). When he got bored,
I found little tasks for him to do (duh...). I gave him TONS of positive affirmation
every step of the way (duh...).
Today, this kid is my favorite (oh man, I probably shouldn't
admit that either). Whenever I teach, I hope he is there. Now, I understand his sense of humor, and I get why he tries to break
rules. Now, I understand his brain. Now, when I get to be around him, we are super
sassy to each other. When I am explaining rules, we give each other a knowing
look. I know he is waiting to try to break every rule. He knows I am waiting to
tell him… “Hey…. No……”
The worst kid ever, is now, my favorite kid ever. The longer
I help out, I know I will get to meet even more kids like this. I will get to
see them grow, evolve, and change. If I am lucky, I will get the chance to
understand them.
#1: Jesus. Every time.
Today was a full day of kid’s ministry. I got to hang out
with twenty kids. I got to hold a two month old baby and a sixth month old
baby. I got to hold three toddlers that were sad or crying: one missed his mom
(welp), one missed her friend, and one missed his dad (bahhh). I got to do a
science experiment with elementary kids where we played with spit. I got to
play Battleship with an awesome kid. I got to do so much cool stuff! Next week,
I get to do it all over again.
Every week, I get to be Jesus with these amazing children.
Now, I don’t mean that like “I’m God! Listen to me!” (I’m not a surgeon). I
mean, I get to hold precious babies, and hold crying toddlers. I get to spend
time talking with children about Jesus. I get to see these amazing people grow
up. In turn, these children have helped me be a better person.
When I started with kids, I was very impatient and
incredibly anal. In two years, my patience has grown tenfold, and I have
chilled out a TON. I’m still kind of impatient, and a bit anal – but hey – its about
progress not perfection.
I am more patient, because you cannot always rush children.
If I rush them, I won’t get to see what they create. If I rush them, I won’t
get to hear about what they did this week. If I rush them, they won’t feel
cared about.
I am way less controlling, because I've learned to let go.
One day we were doing a play about the parable of the mustard seed. The kids
were supposed to pretend to throw some seeds on the ground while dressed like a
farmer and his wife. The old Stephanie would've picked out the kids outfits and
told them where to stand. The old Stephanie would've found some seed prop and
told the kids exactly what to do. Instead, I didn't do either of those things.
So, the farmer wore an army outfit and a cowboy hat, and his wife wore a prom
dress and a masquerade mask. And instead of seeds, they threw crayons (half of
which our now broken). If I had tried to control everything, it would've been
boring. When I let go of control, the kids came up with something better than I
could’ve imagined. And, I’m sure they had more fun in the process.
I have had the chance to be
Jesus to dozens of children. I have gotten to be kind, and patient, and loving.
In return, I have gotten more back than I have ever given. I am a better person
now than I was when I started, and I have children to thank for it.
If you are a Westwinds or Hub person and you want to grow through volunteering, I
hope you talk to someone about that. Please talk to me, or Del, or Paul, or
Jess (seriously - Jess is AMAZING), or anyone. We love you guys! I hope you find a way to connect with others
like I have.
If you don’t have a church at all, but feel called – I hope
you find some place that you love as much as I love my church. If you ever want
to try out a church, you are always welcome at The Hub or Westwinds.
If you hate church or loath organized religion, I hope you
find something in your life that helps you feel loved and fulfilled.
More than anything, if you have something you are good at, I
hope you find a way to share it with others. If you have some good experiences,
I hope you can tell someone (like maybe me) about it.
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