“Amy” was abandoned by her mother when she was very young. Her dad was never around, and when her mom left, Amy would float between her aunt’s house and her grandparent’s house (which are luckily right across the street from each other). Her aunt Sara, who is our school administrator, took on the major task of raising Amy even though her own children were nearly grown. Amy struggled in elementary school. She was very smart and did her work just fine, but she got in fights frequently and argued with teachers. It was clear that she had a lot of anger, hurt, and sadness in her heart. It was very rough for many years.
As Amy grew, each new teacher she had (along with her aunt as the administrator) worked hard at loving her well and helping her let go of that anger. We all prayed for her, too. Slowly, we began to see a new Amy; one who smiled and played well with her classmates. When she was in fifth grade, her aunt and uncle finalized the official adoption. This is when I really saw Amy’s entire behavior change. She had a stable and loving new mom and dad, not to mention a big sister and brother! Amy thrived in this role as little sister and daughter. In fact, she could not wait to change her last name at school and to call her new parents by their right titles: Mom and Dad!
Now in the seventh grade, Amy is one of my brightest students and definitely one of the best behaved. She is confident, a natural leader, and just an all-around great girl. Her mom tells me that it is not always easy with Amy at home, and that there are some really hard times. But God is good, and He is continuing to transform her. Recently, Amy invited me to her church where she was singing in the choir for the first time. I was surprised to see that she was the youngest one in the choir. When church was over, Amy’s family was in tears of joy at the sight of her singing. They explained that just a year earlier, Amy would not even sing from her seat in church, let alone on stage for all to see. They said it was amazing to see how she grew this year and that she was now using her gifts and talents for the Lord.
Our God is a God of transformation, growth, and movement. I love to see transformational growth in my students. Now that I teach the “big kids,” I have been able to see more of how God is growing our kids since the last time I taught them when they were just little six-year-olds. I can’t wait to see where students like Amy will go and accomplish later in life!