Christ in our Daycares

photo from freepixels.com

Today’s blog was guest written by Holly Robinson. To read the series from the beginning, click here.

The children and families that we get to interact with in the inner-city community are families who have not been taught how to have discipline and responsibility for their lives.  When we take these kids in we are teaching them much more than just educational values like their alphabet and numbers.  We are teaching the kids to become responsible individuals while also dealing with day to day issues.

Our goal is to get the kids to start thinking more about their actions and learn how to handle their own problems.  We emphasize having respect for all people and things, responsibility for themselves, and building relationships out of love.  We are a private Christian organization so we have the freedom to share our faith with the students.  We get to teach the kids about God and His love for us.  As we build relationships with them, we want them to be able to see Jesus in us while pointing them towards a relationship with Him.

Faith definitely influences the way in which I teach. Each one of them has been created in the image of God.  God made each one of them special and it is important to see them as individuals.  As I build relationships with each child, I want to find their strengths and what motivates them.  When they leave us, we want them to believe in themselves, knowing that they can succeed and that God loves them so much! I believe that my work is part of my mission field.  In Matthew 28 Jesus leaves the disciples commanding them to make disciples and teaching what had been taught to them.  Jesus is the image of the invisible God.  Our lives are to mirror God’s life.  Mission was not just something that Jesus did, it was His life and who He was.  No matter where we are or what we are doing, we are to be showing and sharing the love of Christ to those around us.  So I want the kids to not know me, but to know God.

I have learned so many different things about God and about myself while working at this preschool.  There is so much that we can learn from children.  Children are trusting, curious, innocent, and in awe of everything there is to learn and know about the world.  They soak up all that we give them and have faith in it.  As I work here, God is constantly teaching me that I need to trust and believe in Him like these children do. I have learned how much I truly need Jesus each and every day.  I have to make sure that my heart is where it is supposed to be, and that can be challenging. When I make my work about myself instead of God and showing His love to the kids, things fall apart.

Sometimes I wonder if what I do makes a difference in these kids’ lives; if what we teach them really sinks in.  When those thoughts and doubts come, God gives us a reminder of the importance of our job.  One week we were learning about community helpers.  A police officer came to visit the kids and teach them about what police officers do.  We got to go outside to see the police car and as one of our kids was getting out of the car, he looked at the police officer and said, “God loves you!” It just melted my heart to hear that come out of his mouth!  None of the teachers had told him to say anything like that to him.  It was out of nowhere.  It was beautiful to be able to see a child share the love of God to a complete stranger and to know that what we teach them about God actually sinks into their little hearts.  Those moments make everything worth it and remind me that I have the best job in the world!

To read the next blog in the series, Christ in the App Store, Click here.

Holly Robinson is a 23-year old graduate from Missouri Baptist University. Two months after graduation, she began to work in a preschool located in the inner city.