Sunday, February 15, 2009

What do I do to make you laugh, what do I do to make you smile, oh if only for a little while- Jennifer Knapp

A theme that God has really pressed into my life is joy. I am called to “be joyful always.” In any circumstance!
So where is my joy? For me, it’s always been the small things. It’s in the snowdrop flowers that are blooming this time of year in New Jersey as the snow melts and brings hope. It’s in the black-capped chickadee’s twitter that I mimic. It’s in the rhyme my friends and I would sing as we drove into the dorm parking lot hoping to find an open spot.
So what are those small things that sustain me here? Some is in the people I see in my ministry. The kids in my class do bring me so much joy. They can be annoying, it’s true, but the little things they do make up for it. I’ve come to see joy in a unique way in each of them.
-One of my kids is the most animated child I’ve ever seen. When he is about to go somewhere, he’ll stop dead still, stare at you, then quickly stick his hands straight out in front of him, palms facing out and spine leaning forward, then run in place while continuing to stare at you intently making a funny noise you’d only expect to hear in a cartoon. Sometimes I catch him staring at me, then when I look at him, he says “What?” and shrugs his chubby shoulders. I can’t help but laugh.
-Another is as quiet as a mouse, but can dance and shake his petit hips like he hasn’t a care in the world. Switching on the cd player before Friday Chapel is quite a highlight for this!
-One of outgoing girls in my class who happens to be the principals daughter has the most contagious laugh in the world, I’m convinced. I have always been the type of person who laughs when I hear others laughing, even if I don’t think it’s funny. I just love the sound of laughter, as a few of my college friends can attest to. I used to get so much slack for laughing at one of my friends dumb jokes, but the simple fact that it makes him laugh makes me giggle with glee. This girls laugh does even more than that. Her laughter makes me want to make her laugh. I’ve often find myself having to hide my face behind a book because I am laughing at something I should not be condoning, but because of her laughter, I can’t stop. I’ve even made her promise to never stop laughing, no matter what.
-A few of the girls are always bringing me flowers and putting them on my desk. In fact, just this past week, four of them brought me a huge pile of empty seed pods. What an honor! To most people, it would appear silly, but the fact that these girls saw how I looked at this kind of seed pod the first time I’d seen it…and harvested that idea! They are paying attention to my every move. That scares me at the same time. To know that they love me and want to impress me so much that they spend two entire recesses collecting these things is so humbling and makes my heart grin a smile wider than it can handle. However, there are those times when I am not so aware of their presence and may get frustrated. I guess it is just a good reminder that I am a role model and always being watched.
-A certain child rarely smiles her brightest, but when she does, she gets cutesy and covers it up, but you can tell that even through those fingers that smile is beautiful.
-One little girl comes up to me from time to time and insists that she can’t go out for recess. She will claim that I am her BFF (Best Friend Forever) and she doesn’t want to leave me.
-It may seem sad, but this past week, one of the little boys in my class cried. The sad part is, it made me laugh. I’m not a heartless being, you’ve got to wait and find out why he was crying. We didn’t have real classes the next day, rather game day, so I didn’t assign any homework. This young child was crying hysterically over the fact that he did not have any homework that night! As I comforted him and explained that reading is always homework, he resisted my efforts to make him smile by singing a silly song. But as he hung his head I could see a smirk breaking out, and that warmed my heart.
-Joy comes in the stories that a small amount of my kids tell so magically.
-The sweet tender care for friends of one of the boys in my class warms my heart.
Oddly enough, it brings me joy to know that my students are willing to chase the cockroach that has just crawled through my shoe and kill it.
There’s a plant here called Yesterday, Today and Forever that I have grown attached to. It’s a bush that blooms deep purple flowers that slowly fade to white and then die. They smell absolutely marvelous. I only know where 3 are, but they tend to be on cycles so that I can usually find one in bloom when I am craving it. Even if you want to go out and buy a bunch of roses, you would only have to pay $3 for a beautiful bouquet!
One thing that I love about being here is the constant presence of baby animals. There is no spring. The animals have babies year round, so I always get to see baby cows, goats, chickens, and puppies.
When I least expect it, around once every other week there comes a point when I look up in the sky and see a palm tree (not that they are not everywhere!) and suddenly remember that I am in a tropical place. It’s not that I am not also reminded of this daily by the sweat running down my back, but I’ve always associated palm trees with the relaxing beaches of Florida the few times I went as a child. So when I look up and see palm leaves blowing in the wind backed by a blue sky with light and fluffy clouds, I am suddenly overtaken by a blissful calm.
As always, joy for me also comes in the form of music. It moves me. No matter where I am, and no matter what style of music, God finds some way to speak to me through it. Working in an International setting, I get to hear all sorts of stuff! And for that unchangeable joy, I shall be forever thankful.
Where are you finding your joy?

3 comments:

Kelly Hallahan said...

My boys are a constant source of joy! The way Seth's whole face lights up when he smiles... the way I can get lost in the depths of his blue eyes. The way Caleb is repeating everything we say like it's the coolest thing ever said... the way he loves to jump on his bed in only his diaper after bath time. That fresh just bathed scent of babies as they snuggle in just before they drift off to sleep! And the warmth and strength of a good hug! JOY! Love you Jean- praying you keep finding joy- I'll have to e-mail you some of my journal entries from when I taught Grade 1!

Susan Elizabeth Miller said...

Thank you, Jean, for this reminder. What a blessing! :)

Unknown said...

I stumbled upon your blog today and I was excited to see that we are neighbors, so to speak. I am currently in Western Kenya 45 minutes north of Kakamega in Malava. I want to pass on my blessings as you continue your journey and work in Kampala. I would also like to extend an invitation to you if you ever make it over to Kenya. I will be here for the remainder of the year and you are will always have a place to stay. Also, I am keeping a blog for my year and you can take a look at aviewfromthecave.com.

All the best,
Tom Murphy