Bursting with Joy

The past two weeks have caused me to burst with joy at the seams. The snow week was a God-send, giving me a restful time with friends, family, and my savior. It was the Christmas break I didn't get to have-- full of peace, rest, and doing nothing because the roads wouldn't let you. I could not have been more thankful for the timing of this past week's snowmaggedon.

It allowed me to self-reflect and learn and grow. It enabled me to miss my students more than I thought possible, not in that I was dying to be at school, but in that I recognized how sad I would be without them in my life. God gave me the strength to see all of this, and I became determined to love them better than I have been. This past week has been overflowing with love, and I owe it all to our mighty king. I found myself surprised at how things were flowing out of my mouth at times. On Tuesday morning before class started I read some of Romans to start my morning, which said "The word is on your lips, and it is spoken in your heart." It was talking about how the word of God is not far from us; it remains in us and on our lips and hearts even when we are not reading it directly. God, I thank you for that truth. You are allowing your sweet word to drip from my mouth without me even thinking twice. You are so indescribably awesome.

This week, I feel like my call to teach has been confirmed. I feel like I've come so far this year in my first year of teaching. I look back at last semester and smile. I look back on my first month and laugh. Funny how you learn through doing, through experiencing things. I am so grateful to have a staff and school and team (and forgiving students!) that have supported me throughout this first go at teaching; they've let me fail, they've allowed me space and room to breathe and try new things, and they help me when I just can't anymore. It's the biggest blessing to be at a school where I love my colleagues and they love me back. Not to mention the support and enthusiasm they all bring.

Highlights of my week:

-One of my students' moms came to me after school and told me that they had been thinking about moving the past year or so. When asking her daughter this past week if she still wanted to move, my student replied, "Um, I really don't think so. I want to be able to stay at my school so I can still see Miss Leiss everyday."


-Our students are currently composing and writing their own books (I am so proud). They follow the "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly" format. Here are some of the precious things they've come up with:

"There was an old lady who swallowed a pumpkin. I don't know why she swallowed a pumpkin, perhaps she'll grow a chin."

"There was an old lady who swallowed a mummy. I don't know why she swallowed a mummy, perhaps it will fatten her tummy."


-We had our awards assembly on Tuesday morning, where I look to find one of my co-teacher's students lying passed out on the floor, sleeping. This student cracks me up everyday, and I know it's not funny that he was sleeping on the cafeteria floor, but...it is. I mean, the cold, hard, dirty, cafeteria floor, and this student was not just sleeping, but snoring. When we finally woke him up, he tiredly rose from the floor and looked down to find a puddle of drool on the cafeteria tile. He preceeded to wipe it up with his shirt. I could not hold it in. I was laughing all the way through 2nd grade awards.

I really love my job. God is so present here.