A few weeks ago, Hannah went with her class to the zoo. Each child picked an animal that they wanted to observe in their "habitat" and then wrote and presented an animal report at school the following week. Hannah picked the sea turtle as the animal that she wanted to observe. She was so cute at the sea turtle exhibit! She watched very carefully and patiently (as sea turtles are not your most active and exciting animals at the zoo). Her patience was rewarded when she got to see him swim slowly from the bottom of the pool to poke his head up for air and then swim back down.
At home she wrote an awesome report on sea turtles from a library book. We also printed off some pictures of sea turtles online so that she could have some visual interest on her poster board. Aside from helping her understand the diagram her teacher sent home and tracing lines on the paper for her to write on, I did not help her. She wanted to work independently, and the results were amazing! She decorated it with stickers and even put thought bubbles on some of the pictures. I was really proud of her hard work--it took her around 2 hours of concentrated working to pull the poster all together.
Her teacher liked her presentation so much that she asked if she could keep it as an example for her kids next year. I asked Hannah, and she said that she would like for her teacher to keep it. I was a little sad, but made sure that I snapped some photos before we left school.
It has been really fun to watch Hannah grow in her confidence this year. She never would have wanted to work independently at the beginning of the year or present anything in front of the class. She would barely speak in group time in September. Her teacher thought she couldn't read, because she was too shy to talk much to her. So much has changed! Yesterday when I visited her classroom, she was talking during group time, telling a long story to the whole class. Her presentation of her poster was great (so I heard), and the kids all loved her "jokes" of what the turtles were thinking.
I'm very thankful for how far she has come since September, for her sweet and patient teacher, and for the ways we have seen God working in her and for her this year. It's been a growing and stretching season for her as she has had to work through some of her insecurities and fears. My heart has broken on many occasions watching my tenderhearted child work through the pain of dealing with bullies, of feeling rejected, of sensing her own inabilities and short comings. Thankfully, these came in short spurts, otherwise I don't think we would have made it! There were lots of good parts mixed in too. One thought carried me through good and bad alike: It is such a comfort to know that everyday I drop her off and watch her walk through those doors, I am not sending her into the world alone.
My kids love the imagery of Psalm 23, of the Shepherd who walks alongside of them even in the darkness. His rod and staff comforts them, because in the dark, when they can not see, He can. He beats back their fears and holds their hand, so they can confidently walk in this world. What peace this visual picture brings to my own heart, of the Shepherd King holding hands with my children, guiding them with His staff and protecting them with His rod. "Even though I walk through the valley of deep darkness, I will not fear, for you are with me." Trusting God with my children has been a real struggle for me, but I am confident that He is able (seems like a no brainer, but the heart sometimes struggles to keep up with the head) and He is good. All the time. Even in pain.
"Only goodness and steadfast love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
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