Was Jeffrey being hurt at school by someone who was supposed to be taking care of him? Had I been blind to the issue? What should I do?
Back when Jeffrey was having issues with his school therapists contradicting what his private therapists were telling him to do (I’m Ready – Let Me At ‘Em!), I wrote about how I blew my top and went completely flip-a-zoid at a school conference. And, I have to admit, I definitely felt satisfaction at that time letting the school staff know exactly what I thought!
I mean after all, even Jesus lost His temper sometimes, right (Mark 11:15)?
But here’s the thing. Yes, there may be a few rare occasions where losing all traces of sanity may be applicable, however I’ve found that when I start praying and trusting God in the situation, He will take care of it, and in a much better way.
Jeffrey was 8 years old, nearing the end of 2nd grade. He had been given a 1-on-1 aide to help him in school, and was finishing up his 2nd year with this same gal. However something was going on, and some of the school staff started sending me little hints about how Jeffrey’s attitude recently appeared to change when around this lady.
I went undercover and played detective, asking subtle questions to people about how Jeffrey and his aide were acting while together. And I started praying.
One day I got a call from one of his teachers, who stated that Jeffrey had experienced a couple of “laughing spells” the previous day. She finally pulled him aside and asked him what the matter was, and he told her, “I just can’t stop laughing” (this has been a nervousness that Jeffrey experiences occasionally when he doesn’t know how to respond). She told me he looked as though he was going to start crying.
I asked this teacher a couple of pointed questions, and although she couldn’t answer directly because of the whole school privacy thing, I felt in my heart that Jeffrey’s aide was probably verbally harping on him about how he wasn’t trying hard enough to do certain things (I had previously witnessed a few comments). I myself was brought up (He Really Cares for Me – I Think) feeling like I was never able to do anything right, and I did not want my son to experience the same thing.
I didn’t really know how to handle this, so I kept praying. After all, the Lord had certainly guided and directed us so far, hadn’t He?
I was reviewing one of my Bible studies during this time period and confirmation came again and again: We must be controlled by the Spirit (Romans 8:5-8); we’re not to be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7).
Then one day the school office called and told me that Jeffrey’s aide had decided not to return the next year!
But of course the enemy doesn’t want us to be happy does he? Because as the school officials and myself settled down to interview and hire another 1-on-1 aide for Jeffrey, the one that I had fallen in love with – and the one who had worked previously off-and-on the past couple of years with Jeffrey on a temporary basis – was NOT the one that the school district wanted to hire!
I was appalled, and again could feel my anger starting to rise to the surface. Yet I must NOT take my eyes off of my Father!
Well of course, things turned out. The first gal they hired decided she couldn’t do it after all because she had back problems (why would they hire a person with back problems in the first place with all the lifting involved?); and the second gal after trying it for a few days decided it was just too much hard work.
So who was left? Why the person Jeffrey and I had already fallen in love with: MISS SAM!
Bottom line: God indeed knows best. Sometimes we just need to be patient, and let Him work out everything His way.
Miss Sam turned out to be such an advocate for Jeffrey the remaining years he was at the school. And yes, sometimes the officials at the school got a little short with her because they felt she wasn’t catering to their demands about what they thought was best. But I knew she didn’t play the “school politics” game – she was just in it for love…
Thank you, Miss Sam!
The God Of All Comfort 