Our three year old son Kian started preschool. He attended two mornings a week. At first he was a little nervous. So I attended with him. For the first time in years I didn’t have to juggle part-time work with kid’s schedules. I had the freedom to commit fully to my kid’s needs. It was fun being parent helper – most of the time.
It gave me the opportunity to spend time with my son, provide an extra pair of hands for busy teachers and become acquainted with parents in the “whanau” room over cups of coffee.
Kian adapted tremendously well. He constantly showed great leadership qualities as he rehearsed and put on “Barney Shows” for the other kids. He even sold tickets to all the girls for his shows. I on the other hand took longer to adapt. For instance it took a long winded conversation with a little boy until it dawned on me that his “MUK-truck” was actually a milk-truck. Certainly I had exasperated the pour guy. No doubt he thought I was a crazy Mommy. The kind hearted Head Teacher on the other hand suggested I should consider early childhood as a career change. Yes I was flattered, but for those who know me personally it is of no surprise that my response was “Thanks, but Nooo Thanks!”
Being amongst so many little people all at the same time was definitely out of my element. Yet I sensed God encouraging me to hang in there and do my best.
Later I learned that God had placed me there for that time to be a source of encouragement to some of the teachers and parents. All I did was share my story with them and listen as they shared their stories with me.
We became friends. God reminded me that I don’t have to accomplish some phenomenal task in order to honor Him. The important thing is in obedience to Him to do good and kind things for others. In this way we honor the Lord with our lives.
-Karen Lund
