6 1/2 hours a day, I am in this….
If this bus could speak…I wonder what stories it would tell, as I have plenty of my own! Through these doors service to the King begins on a daily basis.
357 different children from the ages of 5 to 18 get on my bus, twice a day. For some of them I am the only smile they will get today. And after the first week of school each year they truly feel like my children. Sometimes I could just send them to their room, and other times I could hug them and never let go.
I recently was ill (which is normal for me about twice a year), and was not in the bus for a week. When I returned this week, these kids were so happy to see me. I found that strange, and even teased a few.. “okay whatever you want..NO” But my Kindergarten bus was ecstatic..I mean squeals of delight and echos of “Miss Darla came back”…well yea it made me feel good, but it made it more clear to me how badly children are hurting and really need someone to just love on them even for a few minutes each day. I got “high fives” “knuckles”, hugs, and singing kiddos on the bus.
Some of you remember when I started this adventure and could not figure out why God wanted me to do this..and you remember how it all just happened and before I really knew it..here I am!
Now I have a different picture in my mind…Jesus saying..”let the children come to me”…I have 5 year olds who can explain very well what Social Services is, and speak freely of foster care, what the judge said…and are too young to carry a problem with telling you “mommy and daddy are in jail, but maybe later I can go home”…and this life for them, they dont know another. Lots of children abandoned by thier mothers, one said “when my mom knows what her life is all about, she is going to come back for me..so my dad is kind of sad…but we still have fun”…sad…you don’t have to ask these kids anything, they willingly tell you.
I have a boy about 10 years old has been hard to deal with the first couple weeks, but he is very pleasant on my bus now..he sang to me one day this week, and yesterday showed me a moving cartoon he made in is book…
I don’t seem to have the problems on my bus that lots do, maybe its because I pray for my kids on my bus, maybe its because God rides my bus. But I do pray that HE won’t let even one of them leave this earth without HIM. I am believing HE is going to do that. How beautiful to see HIM love on these ones the world ignores. “Such is the kingdom of heaven”…
ponderings of a princess... 