The Burdens of Babes

Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

I have been thinking all day today about the sub position I took yesterday.  It was for a class that has many troubled children.  I'm going to briefly sum up some of the things I saw yesterday, and keep in mind these are preschoolers, most of them only 4 or 5 years old.  One boy almost pulled a shelf over on top of himself because he was fixated on a mirror, holding on to the sides and rocking it back and forth.  Another boy spent the majority of the day with his head down on his desk (by choice) because his father recently passed away.  Another boy felt the only way to express himself was by screaming, screeching or yelling no matter what was going on in the classroom.  The same boy who almost pulled the shelf on himself was caught violently hitting his classmates at least five times... And one little girl responded with crying-screaming-throwing-herself-on-the-floor-tantrums every time she was asked to do something she didn't want to do.  Well, this is just a glimpse of what the day was like and as you can imagine it was incredibly frustrating.  I did the best I could and thankfully by the end of the day everyone was still in one piece.

Since I left the school yesterday I have not been able to stop thinking about those kids and the immense pain they must be feeling. I've come to the conclusion that what's wrong with these kids is that they are carrying burdens that are far too heavy for them.  They are carrying burdens they were never meant to carry.  Sadly, there is only so much their teacher can do for them.  I don't know what the family dynamic is like for most of these kids, but I suspect that most of them come from some kind of dysfunctional home... whether their mom or dad left them, they're abused, neglected or ignored, it really doesn't matter.  What matters is that they're helpless.  They're trying to deal with circumstances they don't even understand.  I wish I could say that I've come up with some great plan to rescue all of these children who are hurting and provide them the love and security that they need.  But the truth is that I haven't.  I don't know what to do for them except pray that God will intervene in their lives.  One thing I do know is that yesterday  I was presented with an opportunity to help some kids carry their burdens.  I don't think I did a very good job for most of them, but now I know...  Even if it's just a hug, a kind word, patience, love and acceptance, or a gentle pat on the back, I can show them that they are not alone to carry whatever burdens they're carrying.  They can know that there is someone who cares about them and what they're going through.

Even though it was a challenging day I'm very thankful that I had it.