I did not need one more thing to do when my phone rang five years ago. And yet, when the then principal of Mountain View Christian Academy called and asked me to come and teach first-period high school Bible class, God somehow wrangled a yes out of my mouth when I was immediately set to say no.
Five years later, I am glad the call came in and glad I said yes. And one yes has led to another in all of this. First was the request that I stay an extra hour on Wednesdays and preach junior chapel, which encompasses 4-year-old kindergarten through sixth grade. That is always a highlight of my week; I can be as vibrant and silly as I like in order to get the facts and the point across. Believe me, I do just that. Every character gets his or her own voice as I read the text, and I do not just speak the message; as much as is possible, I act it out.
This, though, ran into a precious little potential roadblock earlier in the year. A new little fellow had been enrolled, and his teacher let me know that he has sensory issues. Loud noises and rapid movements do not normally sit well with him.
His seat is on the very front row, about 5 feet from where I stand to preach. Determinedly, I started slow and low, and then week by week, as I could see him getting used to me, I worked back up to my normal animation.
Fast-forward to a K4-K5 field trip a week or so ago. Did I mention one yes leading to another? I also have my commercial driver license with all of the endorsements needed to drive the big school activity bus. I have had it for years and used it for our church’s benefit all during those years. Thus it was that I also got the request to drive for field trips from time to time when regular drivers were not available.