fortunately, this was one of them.
still riding on the coattails of my last post's emotion, i was prepared for a bummer week. especially considering, i spent all day yesterday convinced that today would be wednesday. even with that snafu, i've still managed to convince myself tomorrow is thursday. obladee.
so when i woke up at 5:17 this morning (no way! just realized a correlation! mental note to return!), and felt ... refreshed (albeit not ready to get out of bed, because even on a good day, i can't convince myself that anything is better than sleep), i knew there was some semblance of a good mood in the forecast. i didn't rush, i took my time; i wore what resembled an african moo-moo with some of my ethiopian earrings, and i was READY for the day when i walked in at my new-normal time of 7:20 (until spring break, i was vigilant about arriving by 7 a.m.!).
still laughing at my kinder's last sentence from his johnny can spell notebook "You spelled phonogram wrong," I was totally set for a great day! and that it WAS!
with all my worries about money and moving and making it through til June, I am convinced today was a reminder that Jesus has my back. i signed onto twitter during our planning period and saw that my favorite restau EVER, baja burrito, tweeted asking for help with their recycling... and the first to reply would get a $50 gift card! i hardly hesitated when i saw that it had just been posted literally 1 second ago, and @replied as soon as my screwy fingers could type! (hey, these iphones are tricky!)
BAM! i was first in line! they responded asap, and i immediately felt just such a sense of joy and excitement and ridiculousness come over me. even in the details and the silliest ways, God takes care of His children. and what was a few bottles to the recycling yard anyways!? (ummm, yeah... about that... later.)
after lunch, the most magical thing happened: i decided not to focus on "just getting all my stuff done." instead, i focused on those students that needed the most help. and i saw little miracles. my ELL student sounding out letters and correctly identifying them. my precious special needs friend completing assignments. my sweet, sweet little girl (whom last week wrote ISALF for her sentence meaning: "I smell a leaf.") sounding out and spelling the word "cupcake"!!!! these are no small feats! I wanted to CRY! God has allowed me to be part of something so amazing, something so foundation in the lives of these children!! He has not only allowed me, but He has ENABLED me! He has BLESSED me with them! He TRUSTS me with the gifts and talents His given me, and He has sent me to use them! and now; FINALLY! i am seeing rewards! not in my life, but in their own learning! and that is a reward enough!!!
after quickly tidying up my room and getting a few papers graded and returned, i bolted to my car and headed home (to lighten my trunk of a few sleds and empty diet coke boxes). just around 4, i walked into baja and meet the owner, troy, who was all ready to go! my twitter name on the envelope he handed me, he invited me to eat a meal on the house (not even on the gift card!). so i splurged, and even got guac (hey, it's usually extra!) on my black and pinto bean burrito. truth be told, i wasn't that hungry yet (this remains a mystery as to why not!?), but i managed to "choke-down" (yeah, right) every bite of that delicious mound of beans and vegetables! YUM! and the pineapple salsa?! i bet jesus drinks it in heaven, it's THAT good!
one of the guys walked me out back and helped me bag up all the bottles.... WOW! that's A LOT of cervasa! it took us about 20 minutes to bag it all up, but i totally enjoyed conversing with a stranger. as we talked, i was able to see how ridiculously blessed i am. loading up the last bag, he says to me, "wow, you've been through a lot in your life already! how old are you!?" and it made me realized: you know what, i have. by God's grace! i had, in twenty minutes, recounted being from Florida, college, Nashville, grad-school, the process of moving to/living in haiti, my first year of teaching, my love for baja, how i got this "gig", and even my previous stint at Athens, (in which i initiated recycling and would take a week's remnants of ketchup bottles, and the Jetta was dubbed the "ketchup popsicle"-- now more like cervasa popscicle!). it's not often you get to share the most life-changing moments in your life in daily conversation, but when you do, they should truly serve as a reminder of all you've come from and done, under the Lord's provision! can i get an AMEN!? .... at least a Presbyterian one ....?
i laughed the entire way to the recycling station. the bags were leaking liquid and odors, but i didn't seem to care. it took me 20 minutes to unload my car into the glass receptacles. i returned to my car, covered in mysterious liquids, mud (not even sure how that wound up all over my dress!), and eventually would find a bit of glass in my foot. i stunk to high heaven, but i was happy. after all, how often do you get an opportunity for a story like that (or free baja?!)?
armed with at least 8 free meals and the wordless affirmations of a growing bunch of kiddos (and a few parents that are as equally excited and encouraged by their kiddo's love for reading!) i am just left in a sweet, sweet spot knowing that i am exactly where i need to be. its not always comfortable, its not always enjoyable. but if i look hard enough, i can see that i am in Jesus' hands, and He is undoubtedly taking care of me.
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