It's Friday evening, and I finally have time to settle into my lazy-boy and share some of my reflections of the last few weeks with you all. They've been tough, to say the least. To hear 3 weeks ago that two students were being expelled for sexual misconduct was hard. To hear the following week that there had been multiple cases of sexual abuse constituted a crisis.
I hadn't been really close to any of the students involved, but several of my students were close, and it's obvious they've been hurting. The Monday the news broke (we call it "Bad Monday"), my two 10th grade boys spent most of the next hour staring out the window. One wanted to talk about it, the other not at all. Counselors have been available on campus, tears have been shed, hugs have been passed out freely, and grace has been abundant. It's been beautiful to watch the Body at work, and yet, I've really questioned over and over what I can do. Why would God have worked so hard to have me here already this year when he knew this crisis would break out?
The day after "Bad Monday," I was reading in Luke 5 about the friends who carried a paralytic on a mat to Jesus and ended up having to break in through the roof tiles in order to actually get to Jesus. It says, "right in front of Jesus" no less. I was moved by their dedication to fight through all obstacles and make sure the wounded person of the group was brought before the Healer. It was such a clear image to me that I needed to bring my wounded students to God in prayer. Sometimes it might be most seriously wounded girl, EY, on the mat. Other times the perpetrator, JN. Maybe it would be me on that mat every now and then, but that's the beauty of the Body. We can bear each other and lift one another up before the throne of God.
And I was also moved by the ending. After Jesus had forgiven sins, put the Pharisees in their place, and healed the paralytic, Luke writes, "Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, 'We have seen remarkable things today.'" Oh how I beg that BFA will be able to say that about this situation one day! Until then, I just keep bringing the paralytics. Keep returning to the throne.
2 comments:
This brought tears to my eyes. Such a beautiful perspective on such a hard thing. I will pray with you. (I've always liked that account in the Bible. Their faith mattered, even when the paralytic had probably lost all of his).
i want to comment to let you know i'm reading, thinking, and praying for you guys but i don't know what to say. my heart simply breaks for what is happening.
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