Greater Things

   Its 2:00 in the afternoon and I'm starting Social Studies. I'm tired, my babies are tired, if you teach K you already know what I mean. We're listening to a "Social Studies mix tape" and sitting in a rectangle around the mat when "God of This City" by Chris Tomlin comes on, a song we've never listened to before. Suddenly no one is pushing, no one is arguing, no one is being silly, no one is too tired to participate. My students all throw their arms around one another and sway back and forth. I can't hear the music anymore, just their voices joyfully proclaiming, "there is no one like our God." I wish I could show you what that looks like, I wish you could be there to feel that, the Holy Spirit moving in a room full of five year olds. This is why I teach. This is why I do what I do. To fully understand you have to recognize that I don't teach at your typical private school. These students parents aren't paying their  full tuition. My babies are predominately African refugees and all of them are living in a low income area of Memphis. Several of my students are from Muslim families. Guess who sings the loudest? When the song is over one of my girls says, "I like that song, but its sad." Richard corrects her, "Its not sad, its about God being King because he created everything."

   This morning we are going around the room saying one thing that we are thankful for. "My teacher," "my mom," "my friends," until we get to Lewis who says, "I'm thankful that Jesus died on the cross and paid for my sins," then Johnell, "I'm thankful for the Holy Spirit," then Akuel, "I'm thankful for God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit." It's things like this that fill me with hope for the future. It has nothing to do with who is elected or what bill passes. Today I am thankful that God has given me sixteen reasons for hope, sixteen reasons to believe that greater things are still to be done in this city.



Read more about my school at www.tnsmemphis.org.