Some of you may already know this, but over the past few months I've worked at a preschool. I'm the afternoon teacher to a group of 9 three year olds. YAYYYY!!! :) First job EVER!
I can practically hear all of you going, "Wow, that's a tough age" or "Bless your heart." Now before you start praying for my sanity, I want you to know I LOVE my job. The terrible twos and threes is a myth, I'm certain! :) My job is wonderful, my coworkers are wonderful, and my kids are wonderful. Most of all, God is SO wonderful for placing this job in my life.
Like most jobs, I have bad days. . .but I've learned that those bad days are the most meaningful. I grow even closer to God when I'm calling out to Him, and asking for instruction.
I've learned a lot of life lessons from my 3 year olds, who are much wiser than you'd think. I've made a list of the 4 most important ones I've learned. Try and read it with a child's mind: open to anything and everything.
NUMBER ONE: Life is messy.
When I ask them to clean it up, that's when it gets tough. . .They groan, complain and cry. At that time I tell them to "ask a friend to help you clean up." They always groan, and drag they're little bodies over to the nearest friend and ask them to help clean up the chaos they created. They may have not wanted to do it, but they do it anyway.
It got me thinking, why don't we treat our messy lives that way? Just smile! It can't hurt, can it? Then, when you need to try and pick up the pieces, ask for help. Ask a friend, ask a family member, or ask God. If you need help, don't be afraid to ask for help!
If everything seems to be going wrong, and your life is a mess, just try smiling, and asking for help. If three year olds can do it, believe me, so can you!
NUMBER TWO: It's easy to copy others.
My kids LOVE copying one another. If one of them is doing something they think is funny, they all like to join in. Even if that's running down the hall screaming at the top of their lungs (Yes, I'm speaking from experience). Since they all did it, I had to punish all of them, even if it wasn't their idea in the first place to do it. They still copied the others.
It makes me realize how often I tend to copy people, in the present and in the past. I'm just as bad as my three year olds. If someone does something I think is cool, I do it too. That can get me into trouble. Just because it looks cool, and everyone is doing it doesn't mean YOU should do it. Just because you were following others doesn't mean you won't be punished also.
When I would go to my mom and say something like, "Eleanor's going, so why can't I?" My mom would ALWAYS say, "If Eleanor jumped off a cliff, would you do it too?" My momma is a wise lady.
Don't copy what everyone else is doing just because it seems "cool." It might not be so cool later.
NUMBER THREE: Friends are essential.
A lesson I'm trying to pound into my very unwilling kids is to share. They HATE sharing their favorite toys in the classroom.
One day, my student Grace* came up to me crying "May* won't share with meeeee!!" Typical statement I hear Every. Single. Day. I walked over to May who was guarding her toys viciously and talked with her about sharing.
Olivia: Why won't you share with Grace?
May: Because they're my toys.
Olivia: You need to share or no one will want to be friends with you. People want to be friends with a girl who shares.
May: I don't need friends.
Olivia: Well since you don't need any friends, you can take your toys over to that corner and play by yourself.
May was very happy with this and marched over to her corner. Fast forward to five minutes later and I hear wailing coming from May's corner. "I want to play with my friends now!!!! I'll share Ms. Livia!"
Everyone needs friends. Even when we think we can do something alone, we quickly realize it's just not the same. Friends are the glue that hold us together, and the people that are always there for us. Everyone needs friends, so why not try to befriend everyone you can? Be a light, and be a friend.
NUMBER FOUR: Love the unloved.
Picture This: My first week of work at my very first job, and I'm thrown into a room of cunning and loud children with little instruction. I was nervous to say the least. The first few days I started to get the hand of things, and that's when Avery* showed up.
Avery was ADORABLE. His blonde hair and big doe eyes melted me INSANTLY. "I'm going to take him home with me and shower him with kisses and candy" were my first thoughts. Then, Avery woke up from his nap. And all H E double hockey sticks broke loose.
This child was WILD. He screamed, he cried, he hit, he kicked, and full out JJ Watt tackled the other children. I spoke to the other teachers and they all warned me, "Oh he's trouble," and "He hit his last teacher." Naturally, I started calling out, "Lord, HOW in the WORLD am I going to handle this kid??" I could almost hear Him say "Patience."
Well, as the days went on, Avery's personality started to shine through. Avery loved to give hugs. He LOVED cutting up paper, playdoh and anything else. Avery loved to sing, and run. Avery started to show me his "Don't judge a book by it's cover" side. After weeks of battling this little nugget's problems , I fell completely in love.
This boy was wonderfully and fearfully made. He was so desperate for love, that when I started showing him an ounce of love, the screaming, hitting and crying lessened while the love flourished.
One day I was talking with a coworker and Avery came up to me and said "I love you Ms. Livia." Of course my heart melted as I whispered "I love you too Avery." My heart was so full.
My coworker leaned over to me and said, "That's how you know you're meant for this. You love the unloved ones."
God gives us challenging tasks, knowing we can face them. He knew Avery was special. God was saying, "Be patient." He knew Avery was going to form a special place in my heart, and God wanted me to love that sweet boy. This boy who was such a "terror" is now my sweet little Avery. God was telling me "Love the unloved, just as I do."
Thank you for reading my post, and I'm sorry it's so late coming.
Have a very blessed day!
Olivia Ruby
*Name changed for privacy
