Revolts; Secret Places; and Whispers

This day, like all 17 school days before it, seems to be filled with issues that I don't have a quick remedy for.  They are multi-tiered, and certainly not my forte.  My heart is ready to revolt.  I have felt this revolt rising for the last 16 school days and now, I'm afraid it is about ready to explode with some very ugly outward signs.  

 My days used to be filled with books, children, and teaching.  Now days, they are filled with other things that create a heaviness inside of me.  A revolt is impending.  Hours creep by, as I continue attempting to gain answers by reading "How to's" and googling.  

Unexpectedly, a group of students saunter in to find new books and in an instant, I find myself out of my office and skipping toward them.  Like a young child being let out to recess, I approach a small one in front of the

Lego books in the middle of the aisle, he pats the floor and locks eyes with me.  Not being able to resist the invitation, I plop down onto the floor. He snugs up next to me, just like we are the only two in the library.  Before I know it, he makes his way onto my lap.  (I love first graders, they don't know that students aren't suppose to sit on teacher's laps.)  I am savoring the moments with him. 

I am blind and deaf to everything else around me. My heart is receiving much needed oxygen. Suddenly, another set of little arms wrap around my neck from behind, like a butterfly closing its wings around itself.   I feel a head close to my ear and another Little One whispers, "I LOVE the library.  When I am having a bad day or when I am sad, I come here and it makes my heart happy."  I lock eyes with him and wonder if he really understands how powerful this moment is for my heart.  His words are undiluted and authentic. Spoken from a place deep inside of him. In this instant, my heart is full and I am grateful for the opportunity to pour into these little ones.  

I LOVE that the library is this Little One's secret place.  I also have secret places where my heart finds peace and re-inflation.  Sometimes it is behind the lens of a camera.  Other times it is in the air swirling and circling my body as I run barefooted on my

secret sandy beach.  Yet, in other moments, it is when I am carefully cocooned inside my velvety sunflower yellow throw in my overstuffed purple

studio chair.  In all these "secret" places, the one consistent, calming factor is His presence that whispers to my soul, "Be still, I've got this and I've got you!"  

May your secret place be filled with His presence and my your heart hear your creator whisper, "Be still my child.  I've got this and I've got you."

Enjoy the gift of this day!

Until we Chat Again,

The Plank-Eyed Girl