A Little Perspective Goes A Long Way

Today as I was sitting in my office stewing over the stressors of the day I was changed in a powerful way by a young student in our school. Now mind you these stressors, while bothersome, pale in comparison to the life challenges many others face. That being said, it has been a tiring, stressful year and I've done my darnedest to wallow in self-pity whenever possible. Then I got a dose of perspective this afternoon that I will cling to whenever I get into this self-loathing mode.

A young student who has had some serious life trauma in her life and has all the reason to not trust adults, came into my office and made this day, no life come into perspective. She never lets her past get in the way of her being a true light each day. Delightful is the adjective that comes to mind when I think of her. I've tried to be sensitive to her past and respect her space in every way I can while still providing care and support as best I can as an elementary principal.

This afternoon she came into my office and handed me a letter that she had written. She is moving away from our community this summer and her letter was letting me know how much she will miss me and how much she trusted me. It had plenty of misspellings, punctuation errors and grammatical mistakes and none of that mattered. The sincerity and gratitude expressed was overwhelming. I wept. She gave me two big hugs which was truly a miracle.

She gave me perspective. We talked about us both moving and how much we would miss each other. She smiled and had a sparkle in her eyes that showed a feeling of understanding far beyond her years. Suddenly all the issues of the day and week were washed away in tears of thankfulness and celebration. When Jesus said be childlike I believe this is exactly what he meant. This tiny body made a huge impact. She got it long before I did and I am all the better for it. I understood again why it is I work in education - kids - plain and simple. They are truly amazing and I have been given far more from the little ones than I could possibly give back.

If you are an adult, at least in age, and are like most of us, buried in the busyness of life, stuck on the stressors of each day - take time to be with a child. Be amazed at how simple they make life and how they get it, they just get it. It's not the things, not the politics, not the theology, no it is the people, their smiles, their eyes, their remarkable ability to forgive and go play. So I will take this perspective and try to bring it to each day again. I will fail along the way and a young person will remind me again what it is all about.