Born Broken

As many of you probably know our oldest daughter Lindsey recently graduated college, accepted a position in a local school district, and has begun to teach.  She has a double major, but took a job as an Intervention Specialist working with kids in the K-3 age range.  She has her first week of working with these kids behind her but a whole career ahead of her.

In relation to education, Intervention Specialist is a relatively new term for most of us who aren't involved in the educational system. The position operates within the field of special education, with a focus on children who generally have more severe physical, cognitive, behavioral or communication delays than the majority of other kids. This can be caused by a host of reasons, so each child has an individualized education program (IEP) and at first, their goals are usually more developmental than academic.

As a new teacher, and especially as a person with a very soft and loving heart, Lindsey is struggling greatly with the fact that so many of these kids seem to be so broken at such a young age. Not only are they difficult to reach, but her heart breaks for them because of their circumstances.  This could be seen in her tears earlier this week.

Many of these students are in their current quandary due to poor parental choices, apathy, or unconcern. Others have dealt with, or are dealing with, neglect or abuse from someone in the home. Some it seems, were not given a fair chance to succeed even from birth because they have not experienced proper love from a parent. Some of them have developmental disabilities or other struggles that have put them behind the majority of the students. Perhaps their struggle is even because of a genetic trait that pushes them toward a disability. Whatever the reason, because so many things are stacked against them, they falter. It's almost as though some of these kids need someone to save them from themselves.

Lindsey's job is to help them get on track, help them develop properly and even catch up if possible, or in other words, to give them a fighting chance.  Her main task is perhaps to let each child know that someone believes in them, someone is fighting for them, someone is with them. Although this assignment is very heavy and extremely difficult, I believe that given time she will absolutely excel in her task.

Thinking about the difficulty of her job in the first full week of school, and the struggles that the kids are dealing with today, I recently shared with her that I feel that she has been placed with these hurting children by design.  I think the Lord has called her to this. She's made for it!  And, if that is the case, then He has also equipped her to succeed.

Thinking of the struggles and brokenness that so many of these kids seem to deal with caused me to realize that, honestly, we are all born broken. Sin has broken our relationship with God. Sickness, depravity and addictions are real inherited conditions. Racism, hatred, elitism, divides us from one another and causes us to act in a character unlike God. We find ourselves in spiritual disability, needing someone to save us from ourselves. We need to know what love really is. We need someone to believe in us and show us there is hope. We need someone to come alongside us and fight for us, someone who believes in us.

Thank God for Jesus! Thank God that we have access to all that and more, in Him!! Also, thank God for godly men and women of character who will come alongside us to teach us, or mentor us, in the ways of Christ and help give us a fighting chance! Thank the Lord for people in the Kingdom of God, who like an intervention specialist in the education system, will take the time and effort to fight for us and with us, to see that we succeed. We were ALL born broken, but thank God, we are born again through Christ and with His help and the help of others we will develop into His likeness!

How Do You Ever Smile Again?

I saw a news story just days ago about a woman who lost her two kids and her parents in a fire a year ago at Christmas. I wondered, if you are that poor woman, how do you ever smile again?

I watched in horror today as the unthinkable news reached us that a gunman had killed 20 young children and 6 adults at an elementary school in Connecticut. Again I thought, if your child was taken so needlessly today, how do you ever smile again?

Each time, my heart broke in compassion for those that were in those situations. And each time as that question crossed my mind, "How do you smile again?" I heard the answer whispered in my ear. Jesus.

Only Jesus could ever bring a smile back to those broken, mourning faces. I see no other way to ever smile again. But Jesus can bring back the smile, because in Him those grief stricken, hurting parents can have the promise of seeing those babies again.

My prayers tonight are for the survivors. May Jesus somehow bring a real smile back to each face. This dark world has stolen it, and it may seem impossible to ever smile again... But in Christ there is hope beyond this dark world.

How do you ever smile again? Only by the grace of God, through Jesus Christ.