One Piece At A Time

I have been at the high school for a few weeks now and I can tell you that it is a different world from the intermediate school.  In intermediate school the kids just love you, because you are somebody to love and who shows them love.  Even if they are difficult and do not feel like listening and are giving you a hard time, you know they still love you.

In high school though it's all about being strong, hiding your feelings, and acting cool.  They will give you attitude, talk back, if they don't feel like doing work that day they wont, lay down on their desks if they are tired, laugh at you when you try to be serious, and try to argue and be smart with you when they can.  As you might think, they are a tough crowd, difficult to teach, and even harder to reach.  You see the younger ones haven't lived long enough to build up their wall, for the high schoolers though, that's how they learned to survive.

Jesus said to love your enemies.  Mathew 5:43-48  It's easy for anyone to love someone who loves them back, but it's harder to do so when they don't.  Obviously I don't consider these kids my enemies, but it is definitely hard to love them sometimes and this verse has a whole new meaning to me.

My encouragement has been  1 Corinthians 15:58  "So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.  Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the lord is ever useless."

Over these few weeks I have had the privilege of getting to know about the lives of some of these kids.  Some of them have children as old as 3-4 years.  A few of them plan to go to school for criminal justice or art.  One of my students is a rapper and is trying to record a CD.  One of my students is really good at making flip books while another has the kindest heart.  Another of my students would love to go to college, but is worried about the money and feels he needs to take over his dads landscaping company.  His real dream is to go to culinary school or be a medical assistant.  Another one of my students lives with his grandma and has to borrow his sisters car, who lives elsewhere, to get to his job every night.  He doesn't get off of work until 11 and then has to pick up his niece and bring her to his grandmas so that he can drop her off at daycare before he has school the next morning.  Then he has to drop the car off at his sisters place so she can then drop him off at school and go to work.  Another one of my students just lives with his two sisters and their kids.  His mother is gone, father in Mexico and brother is in jail for selling meth.  Another one of my students plays percussion in band and piano.  Some of my other students play soccer, football and baseball.  Another one wants to be a mechanic and another a forensic scientist.  A few of my students are tattoo artists and some are vegetarians.  Some of them are born leaders and some of them followers.  Some of them are bullies while others are the victims.  One of my students is a recovering addict and now lives life to the fullest.  Many have a significant other, more than I remember our high school having (that must have been the reason my younger kids thought it was so weird that I was single).  Another one of my students uncle died the other day and another one just came back after running away.  Many are failing, repeating grade levels, and struggling to even graduate.  Many of them have been mugged, beat, raped and abused.  Some students are in gangs, some take care of their siblings, most don't have a father figure and many come from low income families.  

Each of these kids are unique in their very own way, but all of these kids are dealing with a lot.  They have so many problems and pressures to deal with that many of us have never had to worry about.  Or maybe we did, but not all of them at once and maybe we even had some support to help us through.  My heart reaches out to them.  Everyday I try to do my best to show them God's love.  It mostly feels pointless, but I have to hope.  They have learned to build up a wall trying to keep out the hurt, the pain and the struggles.  And you know that they don't want anyone to see the real them.  I am trying to slowly chip away at that wall, little by little, day by day.  I may not reach a single student, but maybe just maybe I can make a chip.  Then hopefully they meet others along the way that make another chip and another and they can realize their potential and purpose in life. Everything has to start somewhere right?

I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.  ~Edward Everett Hale