A Little Grace in Their Day

One of my favorite things about working in one of the "special areas" of the school is that we see each class of students once a week. The great thing about that is that, for one hour, the students are with a teacher who is not their usual classroom teacher; not, of course, that being with their usual teacher is bad! But there are some students on some days that have gotten off on the wrong foot. Their day started badly, things have gone wrong, poor choices have been made.

When I start library class, then, I start it with a greeting, a smile, something along the lines of how excited I am to see everyone (and believe it or not, that is always true). I like to think of it as an extension of grace into each student's day. A grace period to refocus, to get their second wind, to reset their day into a good one. Sometimes, a change of scenery, a change of activity, is just enough to tip the scales from a rotten beginning to a good ending.

I think as Christians that is one thing we're called to be: a little piece of grace in peoples' lives. How lovely would it be if, when people thought of us, their immediate reaction was a relaxation of the shoulders, a smile, a sense of peace? I hope that as I grow in faith, grace, and knowledge, I can also grow into someone whose presence invites others into peace and a sense of being refreshed.