Last week I failed on both accounts. And my heart has ached for an entire week about it. Why, you ask ? Because I 100% love these kids. I remember what it was like to be the kid who couldn't stop talking, who from the age of 5 had years of " excessive talking" on my report cards. As an extrovert, I am drawn to people, and my extroverted kids are drawn to each other in the same way. They gain energy from each other, and that in and of itself isn't a bad thing at all. However when 8 boys, or at least 5 of them choose to have that moment all at the same time, the results are less than stellar.
I want them to talk. I want them to share. I want to see them processing the information, and pondering things they may not have considered before. AND... I want the sweet feelings of the Spirit to be part of our class. Because at the end of the day, it isn't me who teaches them. When the lessons really sink in, it is because the Holy Ghost has spoken to their hearts. I am simply the teacher who is called to share these lessons with them and encourage them to more often think of spiritual things. I am one of many reminders that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that their lives are of such incredible importance. I feel as if there is so little time to share what is important with them.
And I want reverence in my class. And so today, I have decided to write them a letter so I can share how I feel about them, and what I want for them. And for those of you in our class who actually read this blog, you may be hearing this again during our class.
Dear Amazing Youth,
I love you. Regardless of how frustrated I am when you talk over each other, when you fool around, remove your ties, irritate the person next to you, or simply act silly, that will not change.
My love for you isn't about how obedient you are. It is because you are fantastic children of a loving Heavenly Father and you deserve to be loved. And I thank you for the reminder I am far from perfect, that patience is a virtue which I should continue to nurture. You help me to be a better member of the Church - and I'm sure you don't know that.
I see myself as a youth in your behavior, and it is like looking in a mirror. I know many of you are trying to listen, trying to participate and I know there are those who simply aren't there yet. We all have the opportunity to practice the great virtues of compassion and forgiveness, to be kind and to be generous in our understanding of those who are different. Truthfully, we are all different. And we are here on this earth for the same reason - to work out our salvation so we can return to our Heavenly Father.
The moments the Spirit has born witness to those in our class have been sweet and memorable. And I look forward to more of those moments.
If I could ask one thing of each of you, it would be to come prepared. Bring your scriptures, bring your spiritual experiences, bring those things that will uplift and bless the lives of your friends and strengthen us all. Bring your challenges and concerns, and allow the Atonement to work in your life, to heal those hurts and to help you walk through this time in your life with grace and confidence.
For everyone who does come prepared to listen, to participate, who brings their own scriptures, who sets up chairs, gathers scriptures, offers prayers and helps bring a sense of reverence to our class, I thank you. Your actions bless the lives of our entire class, including me.
I'd like to end this both with the wise words of President Gordon B. Hinckley from April 1995 General Conference:
"In the Young Women conference emphasis was given to the words of Alma found in the thirty-second chapter of the book of Alma. His teachings include these words: “Awake and arouse your faculties, even to an experiment upon my words, and exercise a particle of faith” (Alma 32:27).
My beloved associates, far more of us need to awake and arouse our faculties to an awareness of the great everlasting truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Each of us can do a little better than we have been doing. We can be a little more kind. We can be a little more merciful. We can be a little more forgiving. We can put behind us our weaknesses of the past, and go forth with new energy and increased resolution to improve the world about us, in our homes, in our places of employment, in our social activities.
We have work to do, you and I, so very much of it. Let us roll up our sleeves and get at it, with a new commitment, putting our trust in the Lord. "
Here's to another great week with my class. I can't wait to see what happens.
Rachel xo
