God offers me the opportunity to watch a beautiful sunrise or sunset every single day and then one day He says, "Come with me and let me show you something else that is beautiful."  I have learned over the years to not miss it, to trust Him, and I am trying to learn not to underestimate Him.  

Nine years ago I felt God tugging at my heart to share my passion for people affected by a disability with my students.  My understanding of what God wanted was so small then.  For four years we raised enough money to refurbish one wheelchair.

Then I was introduced to one of my now favorite writers, Andy Andrews and I read his books, The Boy Who Changed the World and The Butterfly Effect.  In the middle of the night, God revealed to me that I needed to help parents understand how to be a friend to someone with a disability and to understand the benefits of letting their children sacrifice and work hard for our fund-raiser.  I needed to hang up a butterfly for every single dollar the kids raised so they could understand the impact.

At the same time God gave one of my parents and best friends, Marti Smith, a vision.  She came up with having a "Market Day" to raise money for the wheelchairs and to have the kids make and sell crafts and snacks.  That year the class raised over $3,000 and every class since then has raised around $3,000.

Another four years have passed and the kids have raised over $15,000!  To think that 135 five year-old children can do that is unbelievable but with God there are no limits.  That was amazing enough but God also let over 180 actual wheelchairs be collected this year.  I feel like God grabbed my hand and took me to the top of a mountain and said, "I want you to see things from my point of you.  This is what I can do!"

My point in sharing all of this is to give God all of the glory for the things He has done.  All we have to do is say, "YES," and then watch God.  The hard thing is I know I will doubt Him again, but I am really trying not to.  It is so hard to imagine the things God can do!  Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."

I want to close with a beautiful story that God allowed me to watch.  I hope it inspires you to take the journey God has placed on your heart.  Here is the link:

http://keyetv.com/news/local/cool-at-school-first-foundations-preschool-students-raise-money-to-repair-wheelchairs

Day 19: The Celebration!

The day started with prayer.  It was going to be a big day celebrating the efforts and sacrifices of fifteen incredibly cute and amazing five year-olds.  With so many components to the day, it had to be placed in God's hands.

Joni and Friends Area Director, Eric Jones, and Wheels For the World Director, Mary Grace Rushing, had been all over Texas collecting wheelchairs that had been donated.  They loaded wheelchairs and drove until 12:30 at night and then came to my house early the next morning to load another 50 chairs.  Despite the collapsed supports and pouring down rain, they had smiles on their faces and joy in their hearts because they knew what the wheelchairs would mean to their recipients.  

As for myself, I helped Eric and Mary Grace get set up for loading and I left to pick up balloons and head to the school.  A camera crew would be at the school in 45 minutes to interview the kids.  I had a number of minor "hiccups" to overcome.  The balloons weren't ready and my phone and computer would not accept e-mails or texts as I was trying to coordinate people.  I arrived at the school a couple of minutes before the camera crew and they arrived a couple of minutes before the Wheels For the World truck.

As we brought the kids out to see the truck loaded with wheelchairs, their jaws dropped and their faces lit up.  They couldn't believe there were so many.  The camera crew took shots of the kids in the truck with the wheelchairs and then went into a quiet room to interview some of the kids about the fundraiser.  As I watched the kids go in and out of the room I thought about all of the moments I wish the camera crew could have caught.  There would be no way to capture just how amazing the kids are.

It was finally time for the celebration!  The room was swarmed with butterflies, each representing a dollar that a child had raised.  About 100 children filled the room, along with parents, friends, teachers, and friends from Joni and Friends.  A slide show was playing, the treats were ready, the awards were ready, and now it was time to talk about one of my favorite subjects, kids!

Steffani Wilkins, Director of First Foundations Preschool opened the celebration by thanking the children and thanking God for the success of the fundraiser.  The children sang and signed the song, "It's A Beautiful Day."  I reminded the children of the book we started the unit with, The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews.  As molecules are moved by the flapping of butterfly wings, more molecules are moved until the movement of the butterfly wings can be felt around the world.  I told the children those movements had been felt across the United States and in Brazil, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Poland, China and the Ukraine as people have read their story.

We talked about the book, The Boy Who Changed the World,  also written by Andy Andrews.  The children had changed the world by saying "yes" to God.  I went through the long line of people before them that had to say "yes" to God or none of it could have happened.  Ultimately, it was God who originated and planned it all!

Throughout the fundraiser the children were asking family and friends to donate so wheelchairs could be collected, refurbished, and delivered to those in need around the world.  They came up with great ideas of products to sell.  They gave up their piggy banks and tooth fairy money to add to the total.  Their parents gave sacrificially so all of their great ideas could come to fruition.

One of the kids had another idea.  His father is Sr. VP of Business Development for MediLogix and his son asked him if he could get some wheelchairs together. His father shared the idea and in a few short weeks he had almost 170 wheelchairs promised to Wheels For the World.  Carlos shared his son's vision and a great number of people responded with support, including Nexion Health Management, Inc. and Creative Solutions in Healthcare.  At the celebration he also presented a brand new wheelchair that MediLogix had donated.  The children had no idea how many wheelchairs had been donated until we shouted and counted to 150.  This number doesn't include the wheelchairs that have not been picked up yet!

We then had a series of drum rolls as the kids anticipated how much money had been raised.  $1,000...$1,500....$2,000....$2,500 until we landed on the number of $3,150!!  The children, along with the support of some amazing parents, had raised over $3,000!

The Celebration was bittersweet for me since I will not be teaching in this way next year.  I have loved this journey and God has continually surprised me.  He sure let this last year end with a bang!!
The children in the Bridge Class have been able to raise over $15,000 for Joni and Friends over the years, and more importantly, 135 children have developed a love and compassion for all kinds of friends, regardless of their abilities and disabilities.  I feel humbled and blessed to have been able to be part of such a beautiful experience!

Day 18: A Calming Presence

We have had so many great guests over the last month in our Bridge Class.  They have touched us in a variety of ways.  Today we had a visit from a therapist, Callie the therapy dog.

Callie is trained to snuggle up to children as they struggle to learn to read or become better readers.  She provides a calm, safe, and encouraging place for them to grow in their skills.  My students, of course, enjoyed having an animal in our classroom.  They loved watching her and petting her soft fur.

What touched me, however, was how simple and profound her presence was with the children.  Callie doesn't need to say just the right words, she doesn't need to teach anything, she has no judgment or criticism, she just unconditionally loves and supports. The same was true of her owner.  I told Jan, Callie's owner, I felt as though I had spent time on a counselor's sofa, relaxed in a steam room, and had a massage in the last thirty minutes!  Both Callie and Jan, are so calming.

Sometimes all we need to be is a calming and accepting presence with a friend, no matter what their challenge is.  I feel more and more convicted that we need to let go of our fears and insecurities about supporting people with different struggles than our own and just be present to listen, to love, and to support.