A piece I wrote that didn't get into our latest update:
“JC
turned and saw them following and said to them, “What
are you seeking?”
And they said to him, “Rabbi, where are you staying?” He said to
them, “Come
and you will see.” John
1:38-39.
When
I look back at the time I spent in Xi'an I remember Him continuously
teaching me this “Come and See” theme. During a book study my
friend challenged me by asking, “How did JC preach the good news?”
I started reading the Word with that question in mind. I saw that JC
loved to speak in parables, tell stories, and always asked questions.
He loved to ask good questions to get his listeners to think, while
not always giving them the answers. By doing this the his listeners
were always left wanting to know more. When I was learning this back
then little did I know how much this theme would apply to my life
today as a teacher.
With
the law here and for security reasons I am very limited with how much
I can share. I sometimes have to remind myself to not live in the
fear and to have boldness, but also having discernment and knowing my
life rests in Dad's hands. I ask daily for God to show me how to live
out his love in my classroom when I can't directly speak truth from
his Word. I'm learning that love comes out through listening to my
students, taking interest in each of their lives, caring about them,
helping them, or giving advice. My students love it when I sit on a
desktop in front of them because they know they are about to hear a
story. They hang on every word wondering whats going to come next.
Last
night Dave and I were at dinner with some of my students and one of
them told David, “When Mrs. Stacy teaches she moves my heart and I
feel the joy that she carries with her.”
At that moment I grabbed my husband's hand under the table and had to
hold back the tears.
Lately
I've felt that days go by in my classroom and I wondered if I have
had any impact. It was God's perfect timing and a way that he showed
his love to me by letting me hear her say that during a time I was
discouraged. I took it as a blessing and encouragement from God to
keep pressing on. This week I am renewing my contract with knowing as
of now I'll be the only foreign teacher who is a believer on campus
next year (I only know of two other Chinese that are, out of 1,200
teachers). Join me in praying for my students and coworkers' hearts,
for me as I tell stories that will leave them wanting to seek more,
for more like-minded teachers to come to my school, and for me to
know how to live out His love.
