For you
have been my refuge,
a strong
tower
against the foe.
I long
to dwell in
your tent forever
and take
refuge in the shelter
of your wings.”
Sheltering under the refuge of an African tree,
this mother
elephant and her baby appear to be calmly “waiting it out”. I received this little “diorama” as a
gift a few years ago by my team of paraprofessionals with whom I worked
in a Head
Start classroom. A stressful,
stormy time, the four of us attempted to keep peace among a volatile
group of
troubled, violent preschoolers.
The frequent outbursts by different children daily, wore us down,
physically and emotionally. We
became a support network to one another, a finely-tuned team trying to
teach
something meaningful, if only how be to less violent, to children who
fought us
every step of the way.
I struggled with emotional exhaustion and
depression
throughout that year, but admittedly, there were times when I felt
particularly
close to God. I wrote a lot of
poems during that period, many of them about individual children who
were
struggling with their own inner demons. Memorized scripture was a
lifeline to
God.
Every afternoon we would prepare the children
for nap
– shut the blinds, drag out the mats and pillows, read the favorite
stories, turn on the soft music. Because the children were each unique, we found that each of us was more effective with some children than
with
others. This was particularly true
during nap time, which could often be stressful. (Put
away that idea of angelic cherubs resting peacefully!)
It was a common occurrence to deal with outbursts during this transition
to
nap time--their bodies resisting the “call to quiet” their souls so much
craved.
Each day, I rubbed
the back of a particularly
troubled little girl. It became an art to help her relax and settle down
for a
much needed rest. And it was often
during these times when she began to drift to sleep, I most sensed the
presence
of God and found myself praying for her. I believe in her own way, she
also
sensed the aura of God for she was a little girl who spoke of God often. In spite of her violent outbursts, her
rage and her ugly behavior, she was very much aware of the God who loved
her.
What does this have to do with shelter and refuge? The two years I spent in this classroom
truly were stormy times, and like the elephants under the sheltering
tree,
sometimes all we can do is rest, and wait until the storm passes, or the
heat
has died down. The trees may go
unnoticed until one needs shelter from the rain or shade from the
intensity of
the sun in summer. But like the
tree sheltering my elephants, God is our refuge then, especially then.
No comments:
Post a Comment