A Place at the Table
A Tale of Acceptance
The prompt for this week is "Acceptance."
3, 2, 1... Go!
//Last week, I started an internship at a local elementary school called Clifton Hills. I'm with a precious group of Pre-K kids, and am helping the Hispanic students to practice content learned in class, but practicing it with them in their native language.
To be honest, I was really dreading this internship. It was another thing I had to do. I know I've written about this before, but something has really astounded me about this class: they welcomed me in with little hesitation.
One of the first things we do as a class in the mornings is that we all go eat breakfast in the cafeteria together. From the first day, they made room for me at the table. As they got to know me throughout the day, they grew more comfortable with me. They were so curious about who I was.
An avalanche of questions came pouring out to me: "What's your name?" "Do you like cinnamon toast crunch cereal?" "What about cheerios?" "What is your mom's name?"
They accepted me. They wanted to know me. They were curious about my story; about who I am and why I'm spending time in their classroom.
The more time I spent with these students on my first day, the more I felt the weight of a holy responsibility: how often am I extending the same acceptance that these Pre-K students are showing me? Am I as interested in the stories of others as the kids are in mine?//
Heidi Baker has a beautiful quote from her book, Compelled by Love: "The Father has invited all of us into His wedding feast to sit with Him, to come and eat. That means no more crumbs, no more stale bread, and no more garbage. We can just come in, let Him hold us, let Him love us, and let Him smile on us."
The Father accepts us as we are, no questions asked. May we do the same to others that we encounter.
This post is part of Five Minute Friday, created by Kate Motaung! We are given one prompt a week, and asked to write for 5 minutes. Read more blogs here!
Between the Shadow and the Soul: Blogging through the journey.