My daughter came to me and told me she wanted to leave encouragement cards on all her friends’ desks. She went to her teacher and asked her if it would be okay for her and her friend to complete this task of encouragement. Her teacher thought about it and decided it would be ok as long as they didn’t tell anyone it was from them. Which I loved…James 4:10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. I’m thinking she is going to learn about being humble….I had no idea what she was about to learn….So off to work she went. She spent one evening writing encouraging words on black post-it notes with a white pencil.
Friday afternoon when the bell rang she pretended she forgot her bag and she went back into the classroom and put an encouraging post-it on every desk. Even her own desk, so the students wouldn’t know who placed the encouraging words.
Monday morning my daughter said “I hope everyone feels special after they read their notes.” I encouraged her to keep her word and not let anyone know that she was the one that handed out the cards. Humbled Spirit…
That afternoon I couldn’t wait to visit and see how her day went…I picked her up from school and she was very quiet. I asked if her friends liked her cards, she explained; “Mommy, it was crazy, everyone wanted to know who wrote them.” Oh boy, right? I thought, she didn’t keep her word…no it gets even crazier! She went on to explain that a girl in her class took credit and all the children started thanking her and praising her. She explained that it was so hard not to tell the truth and she started to get angry, having a yucky feeling in her tummy. James 1:19-20 Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.
She didn’t tell anyone she was slow to speak, and slow to show anger. Instead, she went to her teacher and asked her what to do? Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction. I love that she needed instruction and depended on her authority figure at that time. Her teacher told her that she would take care of it. The rest of the day she was quiet and carried on with her work. Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.
The day was almost over and her teacher explained to the class that she wanted to hand out a “True Trojan” it’s an award that has to be earned. She went on to explain that my daughter and her friend were the students that handed out the encouragement cards. In the car she quickly explained that the yucky feeling in her tummy was worse… even more of a yucky feeling. I think she felt bad for the girl that lied, bad that she took the credit, bad that the other children in her class knew the truth. She just had a heavy heart for the girl that didn’t tell the truth.
Something so simple turned into something so complicated. Here I thought she would learn one scripture (to be humble) but she learned so much more. I think what she learned most is that some people lie to feel loved! Proverbs 16:8 A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends. She said she encouraged the whispering to stop and smiled at the girl as she walked out the door. Wanting her to know that she was loved!
Father, I’m so grateful that my daughter has an encouraging heart! Thank you for allowing her to have this experience, and thank you for allowing me to teach the Truth to her. I’m thankful that we could open our Bibles and share scripture that teaches her to understand You and the way of the heavens! Please forgive us as we are human and make mistakes daily! ~Amen