Against Such There is No Law

Last week a special little friend of mine lost his battle with cancer.  The doctors discovered it in the spring of his first grade year in my class.  Telling little ones that their friend's leg is sick is not the kind of conversation any teacher wants to have.  Thankfully he made it to fifth grade, but then his body couldn't fight any longer.  A sweet Christian friend of mine is his fifth grade teacher.  She knows that helping the children who were his friends since kindergarten through this loss isn't a job to be taken lightly.  When thinking about her situation, I found myself reminded of this scripture.

Galatians 5:22-23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

My cousin David, who is a school administrator, wisely believes this scripture even applies to the classroom.  What I'm about to share is due to his insight.  As a Christian teacher, I believe in abiding by the laws of the land, so there are certain things I can't say or do when it comes to my Christianity.  Yet Galations reminds me there's no law against showing the fruit of God's spirit in my class.  What classroom couldn't use more love, joy, peace, etc.?  For my Christian teacher friend, there's no law against being God's hand extended to that classroom of grieving children.  I told her that I can just imagine her walking around her room throughout the day, touching the children over and over, and each time without them even knowing it, praying God and His peace into their lives.  

We will all dearly miss our little friend.  I'm thankful that I will always be his first grade teacher.  Here's a sweet note he gave me before he got sick.  Hundreds of notes have come and gone throughout the years, but this is one I'll never part with.  

(If you have a minute, listen to this song.  I pray it blesses you as much as it has me.)