About a month into the school year, I noticed a student working really hard on an assignment at his desk. I could see that he was struggling, but he wouldn't give up. I called him over to my desk and said, "I just wanted to tell you that I am so proud of you for doing your best, and I love you." Without a moment of hesitation, he smiled, nodded, and said, "I know!" Then he turned to walk back to his desk, but halfway there he turned around and ran back to me. He wrapped his arms around me and said, "Oh, and I love you too." I smiled and replied, "I know!"
Throughout the year, this exchange of "I love you" and "I know" has been a frequent affirmation between many students and me. At first, I thought it was kind of funny because normally the polite response to one's declaration of love is to say "I love you" back. But I have come to have a profound appreciation for the fact that my students and I are secure and certain that we are loved. After all, the very premise of our existence is that we are loved by God. No matter what, the truest thing about each of us--the thing that could never, ever change--is that we are God's beloved. How different would our daily lives be if we unapologetically lived in this truth?
As exemplified in the story above, knowing that we are loved gives us the confidence to persevere even when things are tough. The Christian life has never been guaranteed to be an easy one (the 2nd graders reminded us of this when they recited Hebrews 11 at Exordium!), but in the words of Corrie ten Boom, "There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still." And not only does this give us a personal sense of assuredness, being certain in the love of Christ enables us to give His same sacrificial, unashamed, abounding love away. We will never love as perfectly or beautifully as Christ, but we are called to pursue this goal every day. May we strive to fully embrace our identities as God's beloved, and may we let an abundance of grace, joy, and affection overflow from our hearts and mouths.
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." ~John 13:35
Miss Kano
3rd grade teacher