Brat or needy soul?

Last Tuesday my mother-in-law called and left a message asking me if I'd be able to lead our 3rd grade Sunday School class this Sunday. She was having a bunch of ladies from work over for the weekend for a quilting retreat, that sounds like so much fun! Anyway....I told her I would. This would be the first time I lead the class by myself. Actually this would be the first time I did anything more than help put projects together or help the students read and recite their memory verses. I was a little nervous but thought that since I was working with 3rd graders, they wouldn't know the difference if I screwed it up somehow, they are forgiving little souls aren't they?

So I arrived early to set up class and freshen up on the lesson and by 9:45 I headed to the main sanctuary for the opening worship time. I was happily greeted by two of my 3rd graders who were happy to see that I would be leading class this morning. That made me feel good, maybe this thing will turn out okay after all. After the opening, we were dismissed to our classes and 6 little faces showed up and sat down, I use those words loosely.

Right off the bat one of the little girls, we'll call her Dee, stood by her desk eating what looked like a huge bread roll or something to that affect. I asked her to throw it away and she proceeded to tell me that she would throw half away and eat the other half. I told her no and she needed to throw it all away, there is no eating in class. She did what I said. The rest of class was just down hill from there. Dee continually chatted very loudly to the other students and kept tapping her umbrella on the ground or on the desk. It's funny how one person can change the mood of the class. I'm sure that if Dee wasn't there, the other 5 students would have behaved perfectly and class would have been enjoyable. But Dee's actions distracted the rest of the class and even the students who are usually very well behaved were disrespecting me. I felt as if I could cry. Why was I allowing these 8 year olds to control how I felt? Wasn't I the adult and the one in charge? I was very frustrated. Finally I said that just because Mrs. W (my mother-in-law) wasn't there it didn't mean that they should behave any differently than if she were there. After I said that I heard Dee say something. I asked what she said and another girl told me. Dee had repeated what I said but in a very disrespectful way and in a whiny voice. I told her that I wasn't going to ask her to be quite again.

By this time I couldn't wait for class to be over. I kept looking at the clock desperately wanting it to read 10:55. Only one or two students actually listened to the lesson while the others continued to chit chat and misbehave. I actually felt a little stupid. As I walked to the 11:00 service my husband caught up with me and asked how it went. I told him that I was never going to do that again and that Dee was a major brat. He just chuckled to himself and hugged me. That felt good.

When we got home I spoke with my mother-in-law on the phone and told her how things went. She said something that grabbed my attention. She was saying how she sometimes sees our Sunday School class as a mission field. These children need us, we can't give up on them. I agree. I will do it again because they need me. Who knows what their family life is at home. Their acting out could be cries for help or attention. Even though it's frustrating and hard, hopefully one day, years after they have moved on from our 3rd grade Sunday School class, I'll run into one or two of them and hear them thank me for loving them and not giving up on them. That's why I'll do it again.

For now I'll pray for Dee and the others...after all, God's in control.