Humble Pie with Frosting

He leads the humble in what is right, and teaches the humble his way. Psalm 25:9

I have a wonderful friend named Sheila who is an absolutely amazing first grade teacher. If God ever specifically created a person to do exactly one specific thing…it would be her hanging out every day with first graders. She also just so happens to be a beautiful writer and she often writes about her adventures with her little lovelies. She wrote a piece last fall that touched my heart and made my eyes all wet and leaky. She wrote about how touching and heartwarming it is at the beginning of the year when someone slips and calls her mom. I remember thinking, oh my gosh…I feel that same way. We both agree it’s a sign that they are comfortable and feel so at home they mistake our title for the love and compassion of someone else they love…their mom. It really is pretty cool. It’s a perk of teaching young children who just laugh and give you a hug when they do something that would freeze them in embarrassed panic if they were a few years older. It’s all just so “come as you are and it’s ok” in first grade. But God does use my little lovelies to teach and form my thoughts, actions, words and perceptions.

My word for the year is discipline and I’m applying it liberally and successfully in some spots and not so much in others. As you can guess, I’ve started with the easy spots and haven’t quite given my full effort to the tougher ones. It’s no mistake that God sent me that word the same year I turned half a century old! I don’t move quite as quickly as I did a few years ago and teaching lessons on the floor is great until it’s time to get up after being curled up like a pretzel for 20 minutes. Heaven help me if I forget to park myself near the cabinet or my reading chair for a boost up because I certainly don’t pop right up like a jack-in-the box! I had one little lovely ask me why I stopped to pray after we worked together on the floor. I looked at her a bit curious and said “I’m not sure what you mean?” She said “Every time you get up you stop on your knees before you stand all the way up, I wondered what you prayed for,” Bless her little heart…thank goodness she didn’t realize that getting up is a two-step process…rear end to knees and knees to standing. I felt very 50! On another January day I was kneeling down to help a little girl with her math and she looked carefully at my head and began to dust off my hair. When I asked her what she saw she said, “Oh nothing, I thought you had snow in your hair but I guess it’s stuck there.” What she had discovered was the little patch of gray hair I have sprouting up by my bangs. I also had a little lovely watch me carefully as we were doing poems one morning and ask me later how I did that trick with my arms. After careful questioning I discovered he was referring to the fact that my arms would keep moving by themselves even after I stopped moving them on purpose. I wanted to tell him that only happens when the gun show goes south!

I have had several loving servings of humble pie this January but the big slice came this week! Three times in two days three different little lovelies called out my name and they didn’t say Mrs. Wohlfert or teacher or my favorite, Mom…it was a new one…three times this week I heard, “Grandma”!!! WHAT??? Are you kidding me? Add that to the “snow” in my hair, the two step “get up” from the floor, the arms that wiggle like jello AND my AARP membership promotional materials that arrived this week and I feel like I’m ready for false teeth a house dress and a lap blanket!

God has such a sense of humor! He is also so very kind…these lovely little reminders have come through my beautiful little lovelies so they aren’t hurtful in the least. Their humor and innocent honesty made it very clear that I’ve been granted one full month with the word DISCIPLINE and I have yet to hit the treadmill or do a workout dvd. I suppose my excuse of not walking because we have 25 inches of snow on the ground and snow piles as high as buildings (no kidding…really) isn’t working for me anymore. Some people get their reminders through the rude comments of co-workers, I get a room full of seven year olds who are fascinated by my jello arms and think I’m praying for them every time I get off the floor. I guess that’s like humble pie with frosting on top! I’d better start liberally applying my word to all the parts of my life that need it! Lord help me do the things I don’t enjoy!

A Seed To Plant: Did you choose a word for 2014? How’s it going for you? Let’s pray for each other as we get busy doing the things we don’t always enjoy!

Blessings on your day!