Guest Blog: Faith of the April Fool

You met Joey from Big Teeth and Clouds on Friday. She's returned with her fabulous self today in a guest post about a day gone wrong and a little faith. Welcome back, Joey!!

On Friday, April 1^st, 2011, I had a very bad day. I suppose there have been worse days. It’s difficult to remember in the midst of a particularly challenging event that I’ve in fact survived moments even more awful.

April Fool’s Day is insufferable in an elementary school. Each child wanted to take a stab at fooling Mrs. R. “There’s a spider on your head!” “Your shoe is untied.” “I don’t like your shirt.”

The students were all wound up. Then the ones that I was tasked with aiding (or paraprofessionalling, if that’s a thing) resorted to huddling in a corner while simultaneously shrieking and completely ignoring any plea that might redirect them back into compliance.

Also, I had a head cold.

By the end of the day, I just wanted a hot cup of tea and several consecutive minutes of silence.

I had the tea and the sympathy of my husband. There is no silence in my house, only a little girl bursting with stories, energy, and the unrelenting desire to play “house” or “school.” House and school are my life. I wanted to play dead.

Then, I found an email in my inbox directing me to write a blog post about faith.

Faith. My mind wrapped around that word. My faith, I wondered, is it faltering? I’ve been to church only three times this year. I still haven’t read the New Testament. I have this niggling suspicion that reading the Bible would only bring me personal awareness of the things I’m doing wrong. I’m storing up treasures on Earth, for instance. I know this and cannot stop.

Being called to think specifically about faith on a quite unfortunate loser of a day was therapeutic. I may be, in fact, creating the scheduling conflicts that prevent regular church attendance, but my faith is stronger than ever. I can’t find the time to read the Bible, but I know there is some sort of plan for me. Days can be long and crummy, but the strength to get through them comes from a force greater than myself.

I have faith.

Was an email from the Scoop on Poop really a sign from God? Probably not. Still, the timing was divine.

Joey writes three times a week about her life as a mom and special education paraprofessional on her blog, Big Teeth & Clouds. She writes every Sunday about childhood hearing loss and the issues that arise parenting her hard of hearing daughter.

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And, I'm back!!! Woot! The move was successful, the first sleepover ever went...and I have missed you so. I have lots of stories for you!! Thanks for hanging in there for the past 3 weeks. Weren't my guests some fabulous peeps?!?