Lunch Date

Today I had my very first Thursday lunch date with a child from church(that isn’t my own).  I waited outside her classroom until it was time for her teacher to dismiss her class to lunch.  As I waited in the hall I had about 50 kids walk past meet in the hallway as they were headed in all different directions.  It was such a great opportunity for me to just stand and pray for those kids in that Mandan Elementary School.  At times I became sad because I heard such negativity towards the kids coming from the mouths of teachers and aids.  Don’t get me wrong, I was a classroom teacher and I know that times can be tough, students can be tough, and parents can be tough.  However, today in this school I didn’t have to be the classroom teacher OR even a parent.  What I got to be, not only to this one little girl from church but to many other 3rd graders that sat around me, WAS THEIR FRIEND.  We talked about their favorite parts of the day, their favorite hot lunch meal (today it was chicken alfredo, and it was VERY GOOD!), their teachers, their friends, their parents, and most important to them, RECESS!!  Today wasn’t about me talking about “church” stuff, but rather making ONE child feel important. She thanked me for coming, was glad I wasn’t going out to recess, and headed out to play:)