Kindergarten

I’ll call him Michael. He was the nose-picking, glue-eating kid that had his hand raised at all the inappropriate times, always said the exact wrong thing, opened the door when the little girls were in the bathroom and wore the school-issued pants because he wet himself every day 5 minutes into class. Most of us had ‘the one’ little kid in our Kindergarten class growing up. Michael was mine.

I have a Kindergartner of my own now. It took me all of 2 minutes in her class to realize that ‘the one’ has somehow multiplied over time to ‘the twelve’. Last week, I waited on the bench for her class outside the lunch room and observed the other classes going by. There was a kid twirling in circles, one pummeling the kid in front of him, another crying because the kid behind her called her a name, one jumping up and down smacking his bottom, and another laughing at him. While the teacher used her Kindergarten-teacher voice to put everyone in their place, I noticed a little boy near the back. He had one finger to his lips and his other hand was raised in the air. In the midst of it all, he had now become ‘the one’. In the middle of the din and mayhem surrounding him, he was calm and quiet – at peace.

Peace. Where does our peace come from? When financial troubles are twirling around us, we’re being emotionally pummeled by the things of this world, we’re distracted by the crazies of our society, and our faces our tear-streaked with loss. Our peace comes when we close our mouths and point our focus toward our Father, the greatest Teacher we’ll ever know. When we trust Him enough to be still, He will quiet our hearts to the turmoil in our path. He will calm our hurts and our fears with His voice. He will give us rest.

I want to quiet my mouth and my mind to hear His voice. I want Him to bring me peace when all that is around me is chaos. In a world filled with those that seek to destroy His name and His children, I want to stand out in the crowd.

Help me, Lord, everyday, to stand out for You. Help me to be ‘the one’.


And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace. Psalm 29:11


Peace, I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27