On Leaving HAE ):

Yesterday, I left HAE after an amazing year of interning. Of course, my children were the sweetest nuggets ever and gave me a huge stack of cards. Here are some of my favorite quotes from them :)

"Thank you for always hugging me in class. You always made me feel special!"
"Ms. Miller you have always been there for me and I will always be there for you."
"I am sorry you have to go, but you have been a good friend."
"I think you could be a real teacher someday."

Ugh, my heart. Instead of attempting to tell you everything that I've learned this year (which would be entirely impossible), I want to focus on the way it feels to be loved by a child, and at that, 42 of them.

I always laughed when my elementary teachers would look at my messed up art projects and say "Oh Maria, your parents will love whatever you give them because you made it!" Guys, this is so incredibly true. Yesterday, I received a ton of scribbled drawings, letters with misspelled words covering them, and even a duct tape bracelet. And my heart is SO FULL.

The fact that these kids took the time to make things for me completely overwhelms me. The fact that so many of them would not let go of me yesterday and kept telling me they were going to cry and would miss me so much completely overwhelms me. The fact that some shy kids, who I barely even knew recognized that I was in their classroom, wrote me the sweetest notes yesterday completely overwhelms me. That fact that I, little old me, made an impact in the lives of 42 children completely overwhelms me.

I poured so much time into these kids this year. I lost sleep over so many of them and came home worrying that the love I gave them would be all they may receive that day. And they noticed that. They knew that I adored them to the core and they knew that I had tried to be the most helpful, kind, loving student teacher they ever had.

It worked, it really truly worked. I made a mark on their hearts but oh how they have no idea what they have done to mine. I am so truly thankful that Christ has led me to teaching. I could not imagine doing anything else for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that He showed so much of himself to me through 42 little bodies this year. I cannot wait to have my own classroom where this impact can be multiplied even more!

My message to you today is to go spend time with a child. If you have never been impacted by a little one, I'm telling you, you are missing out. They will fill your heart and soul with so much love and happiness that you had forgotten existed in our world. They will show you the love of Christ in the most earthly fashion you may ever experience.

A lot of people lately have been questioning me on how I could ever tolerate working with children. This is honestly the strangest comment! I think of these kids, their smiles, their energy, their want to love and be loved, and I come to one conclusion...How could you tolerate working with adults? ;)