Debbie story...

I was hired this school year as a substitute teacher, and its been so much fun! Everyday, I have tons of stories to tell. Kids say the funniest things, not to mention, adults think that kids don't know what's going on, but they so do!

This week, I subbed in a kindergarten and 1st grade special ed class. The first student I met was little Debbie. She was the first one in the class I met, because she approached me crying, holding her eye glasses in her hands with one of the lenses out of the frame. She demanded that I fix her glasses. I tried. I was able to pop the lens back into place, but of course, it was only a temporary fix. This is how the rest of our conversation went.
I told debbie, "ok sweetheart, make sure when you get home today after school, you tell mommy and daddy you will be needing your glasses fixed" Debbie's cried even harder, "I don't have a mommy and daddy." I immediate was brought to tears, but proceeded on with the conversation asking, "ok so who do you live with?" She said, "I live with my grandma" then I said, "oh!!! well how lucky are you! Not very many people get to live with their grandma. So, make sure when you get home, you tell grandma that you need your glasses fixed". All of a sudden a smile was brought to Debbie's face, and she turned around and started playing with the other kids like our conversation never existed.

Like little Debbie, I've encountered a lot of children who come from broken homes, and it just breaks my heart, hearing them share their stories. I'm having to learn to build a "thicker" skin for lack of better words. And, I'm just taken back to see how very blessed I am, and all the more I get to add these cute little faces to my prayer list. They probably will never remember me, but I will remember their stories and all of the lessons that they have been teaching me.