Speaking of being humbled...
I’ve heard it said that it is very difficult to get beyond a third-grade
grasp of a foreign language – and based on my experience, I believe that to be
true.
I am fluent in Spanish – meaning I can basically get my
points across most of the time, and I can understand most of what is said to
me. However, I am not bilingual – I cannot
converse in Spanish with the ease in which I converse in English. Though my English is suffering a bit lately
too… ;)
When kids are sent to me because of a behavior issue, I
always start by asking them why they are there.
Once they begin to tell what seems to be the truth of the situation,
they often end up in tears. And so, I frequently
have a student sobbing out their story, and it’s tough for me to understand every word they say.
When you are a leader, and you cannot understand what
children are saying to you – it is humbling.
I am quite often humbled and reminded that there is really no way that I
am doing this on my own strength or understanding or wisdom. I truly believe I’m being blessed with divine
help, otherwise I likely would’ve “burnt out” within the first few weeks.
A few examples of my Spanish struggles.
On one occasion, a boy was really worked up about something
that had happened in class. Another boy
was doing something that offended him, but I could not figure out what that
word was. Many times it doesn’t matter
if I don’t understand every word – I can often just sum up by saying, “Ok, you
said something hurtful to him, then he hit you – do I have that right?” and we
move forward from there. But on this occasion,
I needed to humble myself and ask, “What does that word mean?” And so, as a school director, I had to have a
second grader explain a vocab word* to me.
Humbling.
On another occasion, most of the students were lined up
inside, but three students were taking forever to arrive. I shouted at them “Run!” One of the fourth grade girls in line kindly,
but loudly, corrected the way I conjugated the verb. Basically I had said “You run,” but what I
wanted to say was “You! Run!” (corren vs. corran). So I said it again, the right way this time, and
thanked the girl. Humbling.
And then recently, the new boy was talking constantly through
morning devotions. So, I gave him the
opportunity to read the psalm again with me during recess. I’d read one verse and he’d read the next.
From what we know of his life, it has been very unstable and, consequently, he
isn’t the most gifted reader. But I
could not seem to get the correct words out either! So, we sat together and stumbled through the
psalm, each one correcting and trying to help the other. Humbling.
If I am doing a good job here, it is not from my own efforts
– for those would not be enough.
Instead, I get to realize that if I am successful in this, it is because
God is working through my fumbling ways.
“That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in
weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For
when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:10
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*For any curious Georges out there, the word I
couldn’t understand was “boasting.”
