~and I love you Mrs. Renfro~

It's amazing how five little words can stop you in your tracks.  It's incredible how they can change your whole way of thinking.

I heard them from the far side of the room today.  At first, I thought I had misunderstood what was said as I asked them to be repeated.  Once I heard them the second time, I knew where they had come from.

"I love you Mrs. Renfro."

One of my students in our 3rd grade classroom must have sensed how tired I was today and perhaps how stressed out I was in my quest to get everything done on a very busy Friday morning in the early part of September.  We'd been working hard all morning and it was only 9:30.  Already we had taken our spelling test, our reading selection test for the week, and were busy working on our AR tests on the computer.  I had my head down as I was quickly scanning over their reading tests to see if everyone had understood what to do.  Then came that sweet voice sending me a message , one that said it was time to stop for a moment and talk with one another.

His words caught me way off guard.  I wasn't expecting them, as a matter of fact I was not even close to feeling like someone should say that to me.  Truth be told, I was following a rigid agenda that was written on the white board in our room.  One after the other, we crossed off things from that huge list.  We were going to have to work like crazy to get everything done.  I felt more like a taskmaster, and not a very good one at that.

But at that moment, I put down my marking pen and called on the kids to look over at me. Readers were closed, computers were left untouched, voices were stilled,  and I could feel tears begin to well up in my eyes and a little lump in my throat.  I wasn't sure if I could say anything or not, but I had to try.

I told them how I felt.

I told them that I was sorry that sometimes we seem to get so busy at school that we don't have much time to do anything but work.  I looked at each of their faces, one by one, and told them how much their teacher loved each of them.  I told those sweet children that all summer long I had been looking for kids who might need me and how I wondered if there would ever be a class for a person like me to teach.  I admitted to them that I had been afraid that no one would need a teacher like me who had been teaching for so very long.  I told them how happy I was when I found out it would be them.  

I cannot believe that I didn't cry because I sure did feel like it.  
It was not easy but I made it.

That whole exchange of words lasted no more than 5 minutes.  We went back to work shortly after and actually had one of the most productive mornings that I have seen yet this year.  It was a humbling experience for me to realize once again the gift of being a teacher.  

When they all walked out the door today and left to begin the weekend, I just sat at my desk for a moment and took it all in.  There were desks to clean off, trash to be taken out, a floor to be swept and the gathering up of all my things.  I still had an hour's worth of work ahead of me before I could go home, but all I wanted to do was to just sit and think a bit.

And so I did.

The experience I had today with being the recipient of

those 5 very heartfelt and tender words, spoken innocently from the young man in my classroom, just reiterated what I profess each day and probably will until I breathe my very last.  Teaching is the most honorable and noble of professions that there ever was.  God called me to do this and above all else, I'm so glad for one thing.

How thankful I am that I listened and obeyed.
Never have I regretted it.
Never have I looked back.
I can sleep at night.