To God be the Glory

Back in December I wrote about some exciting news...news that I can now share with you! In January, some friends and myself bought a school!!!

I have to lay the events out for you because the glory in this completely belongs to God. He alone gave us this gift. In November, the director at the school where I was teaching gave her resignation. Now this lady was hands down the best boss I've ever had. I'm privileged to also call her my friend. Her boss, the owner of the school, is someone who is very, very hard to work for. I will spare you the details except to say that the staff bonded even more when we found out she would take over as director.

The day our director tended her resignation, a group of us met to sort out the details. What would we do without her? We were angry at the situation and looking for some sort of direction. We basically spoke out in anger that "we should just open our own school and do it right!!"

I went home that weekend and did a google search of 'Montessori schools for sale in GA'. The first listing was of a small school in a town about 20 minutes from where I live. I went up to peek through the windows on a Sunday when the school was closed. It was beautiful. I got very, very excited!

Now anyone who has tried to buy a house or business knows that most of these things take time. I was not prepared for just how quickly God was going to answer this prayer. We began this project in earnest in December and by mid January, we had purchased the school. By February 1 I was not only a teacher at the new school, but the Head of School!

God provided us with a school that had been in operation for 30 years, had classrooms full of students, was fully staffed and equipped and was much closer to my home. On top of that, He has allowed many of my friends to partner with me and join us at this school. We are able to expand and grow the school right away. In fact, next week we will have our ribbon cutting ceremony and first open house!

God put this dream in my heart so many years ago. But I thought it was just that...a dream. I could never have imagined how He would bless me with this amazing opportunity. To know that I am building this school for not only myself and my son, but for His glory....it is almost beyond words.

I'm tired

I'm tired. This has been a very busy season in my life. I've prepared parent/teacher conference notes. I've tagged many, many items for a local consignment sale. I've readied my classroom for International Night while at the same time getting my son ready for his class version.

We left school yesterday for a brief break (it was too far to drive home and back) . He chose dinner at Waffle House. Odd, but surprisingly fantastic since we were the only diners there. It was quiet. We had time to talk and relax, just the two of us before we headed back to the chaos of school. He was precious, excited to be singing his song (for the record, his class studied Antarctica and his teacher re-wrote the lyrics to 'Ice Ice Baby'....how cute!!!) He was looking forward to showing his projects off to me, Nana and Papa.

We finished dinner and headed back to school where he dressed, I dressed (my class was studying Swaziland) and we put the finishing touches on my room. He was the perfect gentleman, helping and following directions beautifully. Nana and Papa arrived and he escorted them to his classroom to get a seat. The students and parents from all the classes arrived and were soon milling around, putting on outfits and generally anxious to start.

My son's class was the first presentation of the evening. I made an announcement to my class as to where to find all they needed, the layout of the evening and that I was stepping over to see G's performance and would be back soon. I kept a careful eye on the clock, grabbed my video camera and walked across the hall to the sound of clapping..........I had missed it. The whole thing. My baby's first ever performance in his school career and I didn't see a single second of it.

It took all I had not to break down in tears. Turns out, the clock in my classroom was slow, the teacher started right on time, and the song was pretty short. I missed it all.

Can I even begin to describe how disappointed I am? We got a few still pictures but nothing to truly capture the movements and voices of G and his friends during the song.

My family came over to my class later on to watch us take our turn. I looked into the audience and saw G's concentration as he watched the students sing and dance. After it was over, he ran to give me a hug and told me he loved me. He went home with Nana and Papa while I stayed to clean up.

I'm not sure that G even realized that I missed his show. With all of the people there, I'm not sure he could even see his grandparents in the audience. But I knew it. It hurts my heart. I missed it. I missed it.

The Way He Works

All I can say is "Wow". The way He works always astounds me. I know I've written about my new job before but I just had to again.

When I was praying for a job, I had a list of criteria. It was pretty specific. The main thing was that it be a Christian environment for myself and my son. In my mind, there was a Christian school that I thought would be perfect. I still think it's an awesome school, just not the one God was sending us to. The school we joined is not Christian in nature, but the people there definitely are. I have never been welcomed so wholeheartedly. Meeting parents whose first inclination is not to shake you hand, but to hug you. Staff members whom you've only spoken to a handful of times, grab you up and ask how your first day was. I walked in the door feeling like this place was full of family.

God had the plan all along. It wasn't where I thought He was leading us, but boy am I glad He did. I know there will be challenges here, just like anywhere else but we are off to a great start. I am amazed at the way He works.

Thank you Father for showing me your love...in more ways than one.