Examining our Hearts

Valentine's Day Reflections

Yesterday morning, our kids awoke to some hand-drawn Valentine’s day cards to remind them of the wonderful things about each of them. Candy was also involved, of course - mostly provided from my stash of American candy from the top shelf of the pantry. It was Valentine’s day, - a day that should remind us of love for God and neighbor, love for family and friends.

At VVA, each grade was tasked with decorating and writing a special note to a child in another grade. Kindergarten and 3rd grade swapped notes with each other, for example. On Valentine’s day, they raced across hallways and walkways to give the other class their notes. The teachers also participated in the note-sharing. VVA has a few different “teams” or committees, one of which is the member care team. These few teachers (including Thom) dedicated a lot of time to organizing notes that the teachers and staff wrote for one another, then collecting them into bags along with some treats and giving them out yesterday. As I pulled out my hearts with notes written on them, it brought a smile to my face to see the kind words of my friends and new family here. It was a blessing to “examine my hearts” that I received yesterday. We all took the time as an opportunity to share love with one another and encourage one another…and eat chocolate.

All of the us teachers at VVA have also been “examining our hearts” in a different, deeper way. VVA is working towards becoming accredited through the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI). One of the requirements of such accreditation is that all teachers watch lectures and then write essays and give example lesson plans that incorporate the Bible. We have been meeting together once weekly after school to watch lectures given by Paul David Tripp (BTW, I love his talks on parenting!). These lectures have been talking about how we as teachers are not just providers of information, but we are also developing and molding children into disciples of Christ. As I listen to these lectures, I think also of my own children and my patients from the past. Working with young people is rewarding but also very challenging. To teach a child, you must move from his head to his heart. If there is a heart issue happening, there’s no way he can learn…or change. Getting to the heart of the matter is no easy task, and change is a very slow process. Heart issues cannot just be quickly fixed. “Making kids act right” is just like nailing fresh, ripe apples from the grocery store to an apple tree. We can imagine the outcome of this after a few days. The tree still isn’t producing its own apples after the ones we nailed start to go bad. We make things look ok for a bit, but the tree is still not fruitful and likely dying on the inside.

What I am learning is that this heart change starts with me. My kids and my students cannot change until I examine my OWN heart. Where is my heart set on something other than God? What idols are in my life? How am I being selfish? It reminds me of Psalm 51 where David prays to God, “Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right Spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence and take not your Holy Spirit from me.” For us to teach and love and care for our own children, we have to first look inward and pray for God to show us our own hearts, then ask Him for the help to change, through his Spirit.

Last night, we went to one of the best parties I’ve attended in a long time. I was able to witness just a bit of the hearts of a few students from VVA. Thom and I were invited to the 6th grade Valentine’s day party at a local restaurant owned by one of the student’s parents. A student named JP planned out the events of the party. The first event was a tic tac toe tournament, followed by a flip the bottle tournament (whoever can flip a water bottle around and have it land upright 3 times in a row wins). Then, we requested songs and had a dance circle where each person led different dances. There were 7 students, Thom and I, and another teacher couple there. It was beautiful and amazing. These kids are genuine, loving, and kind. They served each other and showed love through their kindness to all of us. I was so impressed and blessed to have been with them. (Why don’t all parties have tic tac toe tournaments and dance circles??)

Some of them gave thank you cards to Thom for being such a great homeroom teacher. Thom is really doing a great job, at teaching the awesomeness of math and at just loving the kids so well:

As I examine my own heart, I’m reminded of the beauty of the hearts of those who were dear to Jesus: children. John Valor didn’t miss out on the Valentine’s notes, either. He made sure his teacher, Ms. Esther, took his photo of him drawing a card for me and Thom. That’s me on the left (with the longer hair) and then Thom on the right. If you’re wondering, the filled in circle on Thom is his “Really big belly button!” said with big eyes and in JV’s scruffy intense voice. (hahaha!). What a sweet boy.

Much love to you all.

Bekah