A LESSON IN GOD'S LOVE

Yesterday I had the opportunity to do make-up assessments with students who had been absent on Tuesday for our school-wide AIMSWEB testing. Honestly, I like how our building does it, as a team of staff members were in the blue room all day testing our students who came at assigned times for their three minutes of testing.

For those of you not familiar with this assessment, the students in grades 2-6 were given three different passages to read for one minute each. I assisted in the fall, while I had a student teacher, but didn't get to do so this time around. However, during my plan time yesterday, I went around and did make-ups. Honestly, I loved it.

Hearing students that aren't typically on my caseload read was refreshing. Every student I had read to me did a fabulous job, and reminded me that there are students who read well. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE MY WORLD, I REALLY DO. But yesterday was fun to hear kids read with excellent fluency. In fact, I realized that my fourth graders WILL read like that when they leave me in sixth grade!!! Reading is my favorite thing to teach!

God showed me something in the midst of the assessment yesterday that I thought I would share. What I haven't told you is that the student reads a paper copy while I sit with my laptop, and highlight words they miss. If they miss a word, & then correct the word I can tap it again, and remove the highlight from the word. While it's time consuming, as it's three minutes per student, it's easy to give and score. As I sat there with one kid, God showed me something.

I used to view God as that individual waiting to HIGHLIGHT my mistakes. In fact, I was in a church that taught a version of that philosophy and I felt stuck. (We'll skip my own little soapbox about that experience.) I was reminded yesterday that there is a God that loves us unconditionally and in a healthy way. I even saw a picture of myself repenting of sin, and Jesus wiping away that sin as easily as I could erase a student's mistake in reading a word on that page. See, I don't think it's okay for me to do whatever I want, I am a gal still responsible for the things in the WORD, but mistakes happen and it's his KINDNESS that leads to REPENTENCE. Within that, there is GOD'S UNCONDITIONAL LOVE reaching out to me, (us) in a very healthy way.

I have pondered that a lot today as I have had a SNOW DAY. *grin* God loves me on levels I can't even wrap my head around. That is the coolest part of the whole lesson. Sins wiped away and loving arms open. I LOVE IT!

Today I didn't get to finish those MAKE-UP assessments, but that's okay. I got the lesson in one day. *grin*

LIFE.
IS.
GREAT!!!