conversation with a stranger

Before college and even before I decided to major in Public Relations (I will be in my senior year this fall, 2012) a few friends and other people suggested that I become a kindergarten teacher. I have always loved kids, I'm a big kid at heart. I have worked with kids as a babysitter, in VBS and other church functions, in India... I really love working with kids. It's one of my passions. I liked the idea of being a school teacher, but I knew that I did not want to major in Elementary Education in college. Anyways, the point of this post is to tell you a story of a conversation I had with a woman while I was at work today. It was a very brief but very encouraging conversation.

A little background: This summer I am working as a day camp counselor at the YMCA in my town. Every morning when I get to work I am greeted with at least a dozen kids (ages 5 to 12) all running up to me shouting "DiDi! DiDi!" DiDi is my camp nickname. They give me little bear hugs around the waist and tug at my arm and shirt, wanting to tell me about how they scored a home run at their baseball game yesterday or how they got into trouble that morning before coming to camp. Kids say the darndest things. They are so sweet.

While at work/camp today I was taking 7 girls to the restroom (the family locker room at the Y). While walking from the gym to the restroom an older woman in a wheelchair and a young woman pushing her were also on their way to the restroom. I had the girls stop walking and stand along the wall to let the two women pass.

They passed and I gave them a couple of seconds of space so they would get the chance to get into the restroom. Once I entered the locker room my 7 girls began to take turns using the bathroom and washing hands.

The woman in the wheelchair looked at me and said "Are you a teacher?" "No ma'am I'm not," I replied simply. Then she said,"Oh, you should be you're so good with these kids. They listen to you. Do you have kids?" "Oh no ma'am I'm just a kid myself. I am just a camp counselor here," I responded. "What do you do?" she then asked. Which is kinda funny looking back because I had just told her I was a camp counselor. I then told her I was a student in college. She asked me what I was studying, I told her Public Relations. "You should be a school teacher," she said again.

I was then distracted by one of my girls asking me a question, so I just kinda politely smiled at the woman and turned away.

I don't know why but I just thought that was the sweetest little thing, our conversation. Not that she was encouraging me to be a teacher, but that from what little interaction of me and the girls that she witnessed.. she really thought I was great with kids. It's so encouraging to know that people on the outside can tell that I really care about my work as a counselor this summer. And as I gear up to return to India for 3 months this fall, working and interacting with young adults and children is going to be e huge part of that, this little "locker room conversation" was quite a comfort.

on work, humbleness, love, etc

"If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well." -Martin Luther King Jr.

While in India last summer the Lipscomb team and I put on a play at the school the children at Asha Mission go to. We reenacted the parable of The Good Samaritan, but we switched the title to The Good American.  I played the part of the man walking to Jerusalem who has been injured on the side of the road.

Anyway, this photo (taken by the talented Eliza Eubanks) shows me sitting on stage while one of the women who works at the school was sweeping up the corner of the stage. I actually don't remember her being up there on stage with us at all. but there she is.  Just as important as the team and I thought it was for us to be on stage telling this parable to the hundreds of kids at this school, it was important for her- this humble woman- to be on stage alongside with us doing her own job.

There is nothing too big or too small to be done for the Kingdom of God.  In many ways we are called to do good will towards others. Whether or not you spend your days as a cashier at a fast food restaurant, as a nurse, as an electrician, as a teacher, as a soldier, an artist... do your job with the love and compassion of Jesus Christ. Walk with the humbleness of a streetsweeper but with the confidence of a child of God.

"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." -Matthew 5:16

Embrace all strangers with open-mindedness and understanding, because we really do not know what it is like to be anyone but ourselves.

"Be not inhospitable to strangers lest they be angels in disguise."

-Hannah Grace

Drawing Inspiration

Let me digress a bit for a second and introduce myself to all of you as one of Ashraya's interns this fall. I realized after Tom's recent post which you can read here ---> http://www.ashrayamission.com/a-note-from-our-interns-tom/ , that I never really said much about myself in my last 1 or 2 posts.My name is Hannah Grace and I'm from Clarksville, TN. I go to Austin Peay State University and am majoring in Public Relations. I will graduate sometime in 2013 (I'm not in a hurry these days ;)) and post-grad I plan on getting TEFL (teach English as a foreign language) certified and teach in South Korea for a couple years (this is my creative solution to paying off student loans). Ultimately though, I want to somehow use my degree in PR to work in the nonprofit realm (hopefully with Asha Mission and Ashraya Mission!) Also, I love photography and my favorite food these days is any kind of fruit- with the exception of mangoes, but that's another story that I will credit to Ashley Curd didi.

I think it's a neat thing when we see God and His message of love and redemption in everyday seemingly mundane things.

The beauty of a sunset marking the end of another day we have been so blessedly given. The sky was on fire this evening.

The laughter of children, may we live like them and learn from the way they see life so simply and beautifully. Children at their core are the same no matter what nation they are from. You can babysit kids from the suburbs in middle Tennessee or travel to hang out with kids in India, and you will find that young boys from both places like to jump off things and pretend they are super heroes.

The enigma of nature. How does God so perfectly orchestrate the currents of the winds and the water? The power of a body of water is just a glimpse into the power of God. He has the power to call upon the rains and flood the ENTIRE earth. He also has the power to calm the storm, "Peace! Be Still!" And let's not get into walking on water. Our God is just TOO cool.

What everyday things inspire you guys?

-Hannah didi