Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: HOPE (joyful, confident expectation in salvation) (03/05/15)
-
TITLE: Hope Connotes: Hope Denotes | Previous Challenge Entry
By Linda Gage
03/12/15 -
LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE
SEND A PRIVATE COMMENT
ADD TO MY FAVORITES
Miss Jayne nodded and pointed to another.
“I hope to visit my grandparents every weekend.”
“Nice. Who else?”
She surveyed all the little hands high in the air. The students anxious to share their hopes for summer vacation.
“I hope I get to swim every single day!” Mandy didn’t wait to be called.
Miss Jayne smiled and then noticed Susan. She was slouched in her seat, hands folded tightly and head cocked downward as if not wanting to be noticed.
Miss Jayne, chose Candice.
“I hope, um, I hope, uh, I hoooope for everything!”
The kid’s laughed and started to squirm.
“Children, when we wait for something, something that we really, really want, we feel something called ‘anticipation.’ If we don’t know if it will really happen we are hoping.”
She glanced at Susan again. Her hands now tucked under her legs.
“HOPE can make you feel excited inside. Susan, what are you hoping for this summer?”
Susan’s feet shuffled; all eyes were on her. Miss Jayne immediately regretting putting her on the spot as she saw the tears well up. Instead of enticing ‘hope’ in this 10-year-old, she only incited angst.
“I hope summer never comes!” Susan blurted.
A wave of mumbles filled the room. Miss Jayne needed to think fast.
‘Hope! Hope! HOPE!” She said in louder increments until all eyes were back on her. “Hope can be different for different people!”
She was losing the crowd, which is easy in 4th grade. She desperately wanted to describe the true Hope of the world. The hope of Jesus Christ. But her contract forbade it. The school board made it clear that she was to stop talking about ‘God’ in class, lest she lose her job. Yet, every single day God always came to her mind. And deep inside she knew the ‘hope’ question was loaded. She could have asked the summer vacation question different. But what are they left with when things ‘wished’ for don’t happen. Disappointment, sadness, anger?
Chaos was surfacing. Her mind raced. She was facing another daily decision at Buford Elementary School. Stand by what she knew was truth or satisfy the school board.
“Well, it is last day of the school year,” she thought, “I hope I keep my job.”
The irony clicked. “What if I don’t? I’ll still have the true hope, which is salvation through God’s Son. That’s what matters.”
She took back control with confidence, “Children there is a HOPE. A hope that’s better than a trip to Disneyland, better than going swimming every day, even better than the hope of seeing grandparents.”
She had their attention.
“Plus it’s a good hope even when you are fearing bad things might happen.”
Susan glanced up.
“This true hope comes from someone greater than us. Someone who loves us, cares for us, and will never leave us no matter what. This is the hope God gives through His Son Jesus.”
She drew a picture on the board of a stick person (diagrams always help).
“Our hopes come from ideas,” she put an arrow to the brain, “here.”
“I hope to go to the beach this summer.” She drew a beach near the head. "But what if I never get to go?”
She drew a big frowny face.
Then she put a big heart on the stick figure and a face in the heart. “When Jesus is in your heart, even if what you hope for doesn’t happen it won’t make you sad.”
She changed the face to smiley.
“Why? Because Jesus is a friend that gives hope that you can’t see.
He is always there to help when you don’t get to swim or go to Disneyland even if you fear something might happen. Jesus is God with you.”
Fidgeting, mumbles and eye rolling began. She lost them all, except Susan. What appeared in her eyes was better than any job. It was a glimmer of hope.
A loud bell sounded. School was out for summer!
Miss Jayne heard the rebuttals as excited children ran through the door.
“I know I’ll get to swim because my aunt just got a new pool.”
“We already have Disneyland tickets...”
Miss Jayne patted Susan’s head as she passed by. Susan smiled. Miss Jayne’s summer would be just fine no matter what, because her true teaching purpose was being fulfilled; spreading the hope of Jesus Christ.
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
God Bless~