Joy at West Side Christian School

One of my favorite things to do is to jump on the JoyBus and head to schools to help lead their chapels or spend time in a classroom. Kids of all ages are just my favorite!

Often I leave a school so filled with joy and a better understanding of God’s love and that was true on this day at West Side Christian School.

I was moved to tears hearing their sweet voices sing praise to the Lord. This showed me to remember to worship with all of my heart and not care about anything in that moment other than pouring my heart out to our Lord.

Sometimes I wonder if the kids are really listening so during this visit, I threw out a very popular number, one that all of the kids are raging about.

As I explained that it’s helpful to me to start my day by listing three things that I am thankful for, I also said, “or you can list 6 or 7”.

Without skipping a beat, all at once the kids did the popular 6-7 and motions! It was hilarious but this showed me that people are listening and watching even when we don’t think they are. A great reminder to have my words and actions reflect the goodness of God.

At the end of the visit, we went outside to take a picture by the colorful Joy Bus and on our way out, a sweet girl handed me a vase of flowers. She said, “you spread joy to so many, so we wanted to bring some joy to you”. This stopped me in my tracks.

Little did this school know, but the day before was my birthday and almost everyone in my circle had forgotten. This forgetfulness didn’t bother me, in fact, I got a little giggle out of it, but this kind and very thoughtful gesture showed me that we call our Lord ‘Father’ for a reason. He is always there to pick us up and give us the love that we didn’t even know we needed.

Go Jesus!

~Joy