Band Aid

Matthew 10:42

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.

Sometimes you give the cup of cold water to the little one,

And sometimes the little one offers the water to you.

Lately, work has required a lot of stamina and patience.  One student has a strong need for behavioral support and many interventions have been tried.  On one difficult day, I had the class gathered on the floor around our big easel.  As I began teaching a writing lesson, Riley* began some disruptive behavior.  While trying to simultaneously address his behavior and keep the rest of the class moving forward, I flipped the pages of thick easel paper and cut my finger.  It hurt, but not as badly as my strong, “OW!” suggested.  My frustration over the whole situation vented through the paper cut. 

Riley took a minute to calm down in the hallway and I forged ahead with “How to Write a Topic Sentence”.   As I taught, I noticed another student, Jocelyn, fiddling with something over by the sink.  What the heck?!  I thought.  Why is she wandering around right now?  I decided to let it go, and got the class going with writing their sentences. 

A moment later, I was writing the kids’ sentences on the easel paper as they shared them out loud and Jocelyn came up to me.  What does she want?  I was a little annoyed, but I calmly smiled and stopped writing.  “Yes, Jocelyn?  Do you need something?”  These kids are need-machines.  I give and give all day. 

Jocelyn quietly slipped a band aid into my hand.  She leaned in, smiling, and whispered, “For your paper cut.”

I was dumbfounded.  It was like time had stopped as I processed what God was doing in that moment.  In these tough times, I had been asking God to show me His compassion.  “I need to know You see me, Lord,” I’d prayed that morning.

That child’s smile, holding out the band aid with partially ripped wrapper where she’d gotten the unwrapping started for me – that was God’s “I see you.”  That was His compassion, His cup of cold water.

The cut wasn’t bleeding.  I probably would have been fine without a band aid, but I wore that bandage for the next day and a half as a visual reminder of the compassion and grace I’d received.  And when Riley came back from his hallway break, I felt a new kinship with him.  We all need someone to notice us.

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*Names changed for anonymity