WHEN LOVE GOES WALKING...

WHEN LOVE GOES WALKING... SPEECHLESS! ...but not without words. Heroes among heroes, requiring no reward. Still watching videos of stranded vehicles on day 3, standing in awe of the many answers to the pleas of others who opened their homes, strangers no more... walking to come face to face with new friends. Families making ministries out of their mini-mes to give them a taste of the more avaiiable in life. Lessons that can only be lived out, and love reflected. SPEECHLESS! ...but not without words. Heroes among heroes requiring no reward. Watching my church Revolution Church step up and step in on Union Hill Trail in Canton rescuing the stranded and welcoming new members later featured on the news while I was away blooming where I was planted. SPEECHLESS! ...but not without words. Heroes among heroes, requiring no reward. After 31 hours as ONE of many teachers who chose to stay (CHOOSING defined as unable to leave in my car but with the option of staying with a friend at an apartment across the street) and watch over the little ones K-5 at Dunleith Elementary School, it really was like something out of a movie. SPEECHLESS! ...but not without words. Heroes among heroes, requiring no reward. Being a part of something greater than myself and serving alongside a staff of caring and committed individuals who slept without their husbands and children and embraced the call without giving it a second thought. My Assistant Principal Sharon Burger should be commended for never abandoning us. We know HUGE mistakes should be addressed, but once that bed was made and the trenches were dug she never left our side. I teach second grade and found myself working side by side with 3 other teachers making over 200 grilled cheese (gov food) sandwiches and (DANCING), carrying mats for kids to sleep on and with kids sleeping on them (LAUGHING). We opened boxes without counting inventory, and walked the kitchen salvaging through things without giving thought to sanitation with (SERVING) the kids our focus. (RUNNING) I was one among three who took the names of children and reunited them with parents after we went searching for each face...from over 700 to our slumber party guests of almost 20 after 2am. Paper plates for all occasions, and napkins of all colors...we served. We didn't have heat until 3:30am, but a few space heaters for the kids to snuggle up to. Our (HERO) Sharon Burger figured out a way to get our heat to work for one hour at a time after that. I did not get any sleep, but was there for the kids who needed to go to the bathroom sleepwalking, who just needed reassurance that mommy was coming back, and we covered them with our own coats, clothes, and disposable table cloths. Parents walked as far as Barrett Parkway to get their kids, one kid being picked up at 2am. I helped a Good Samaritan load one of our fragile children, his wheel chair, sister, and mom into his vehicle. People gave away scarves to the kids who had to walk to their stranded car not knowing when home would be reached or if the car would even make it. Our music teacher ad libbed a lullaby, our AP raided freezers, our MOID teacher and EIP teacher reassured EVERY teacher on day two that we would get home without use of our cars no matter how far the drive. This being my first year at Dunleith and 10th year as a teacher, I lived in the trenches with coworkers from every grade going beyond the call of duty and I am blessed to have chosen my school over the warmth of a nearby apartment. If I were to give a title to the past 3 days it would be WHEN LOVE GOES WALKING. Why? Because (and I would tell my kids not to start with because) many can talk about love but few take it for a walk. Few actually dig into 1 John 4 and play out the essence of love, taking the rawest form defined by ONE. People all over GA have endured their loves in all sizes out walking away from their cars into the uncertainty of the night. People all over GA have walked from the certainty of their walls to the stranded on the interstates to deliver on a promise made to God. People in GA schools went walking to reunite parents with students and exhausted all options, believing that giving up was never an option. If you want to live like Jesus you have to walk like Jesus. WHEN LOVE GOES WALKING.