One foot, One Day

I have always heard people say, "Do you want the good news or the bad news first"? Well today, you are only getting the good news. This blog is intended to lift you up and the bad news will only bring you down. So why focus on the bad, when there is so much good to tell you about! This past week has been the best of Bible of the Bus, thus far. I went into week 5 with a new attitude after being so tired last week. I made it a goal to greet each child, talk to them about their days, and be patient. So this is how is went...

Each day before they let the kids go or right before I got on my bus, I said a prayer and asked for patience, opportunities to connect and for protection from Satan for the ride home. As I waited for the kids, I sat and talked with my husband about our days and he would just throw something out the window to various bus drivers because he is silly like that, lol! We tooted the horns and here they came. I greeted each kid with a, "Hi!", "What's up?", "How was your day?", "Smile!", or even a "Give me five dude"! They loved it. Each kid responded with a, "Hi Mrs. Sutton", a grin, a giggle or just gave me five. As they all sat down, I got up and went and talked to each of them about their day. We usually have about 5 to 10 minutes to wait before we can pull out and go to the other campuses so I chose to use this time to talk to the K-2nd graders. They were pulling stuff out of their folders to show me, telling me about what they had done during the day or what they were going to do when they got home. They LOVED the attention. This is when I also took the time each day to tell them what I expected of them on the ride. To my surprise, they were very responsive. As we went along to each campus, I followed the same thing with greeting each child. I could not get up and talk to them about their day but I was able to greet each one. EVERY child said something back to me, even the high school kids. I was feeling pretty good about it.

On Monday, the kids read the verse and looked through the Bible as usual and asked me some questions about the verse. Tuesday did not result in anymore questions but it was a good route and lots of good conversations. Wednesday, however, was the best day so far. While we were waiting to head off to Intermediate, one of the boys came up to look at the Bible that had not mentioned anything about it before. After talking about the verse, he told me he wanted to be saved! Then another little boy come up and said the same thing! I was almost in tears. I was so excited. I immediately started asking them questions about where they went to church, did they know what it meant to be saved, had they talked to anyone about it before, and so on. We didn't have much time because we were about to pull out. I had to tell them to sit down and the little boy says, "But Mrs. Sutton, I want to hear more about God". I almost pulled my bus over right then and there but I knew I could not do that. I told him just to sit behind me and ask whatever he wanted. Me and the two little boys had a great conversation and I told them the ABC's of becoming a Christian. They told me that they were going to Awana's that night at Woodland Hills Baptist Church and I told them to find an adult or someone there and let them know what we talked about. I just want to stop right here and give a big shout out to Woodland Hills for their great service in picking these kids up every Sunday and Wednesday night also. Without your service, these children would not be able to go to church! I couldn't wait to get off the bus and tell Jason about what had happened. He said, "Well, I know what you are posting about next week". He was right. I almost blogged about it that day but decided to wait.

Thursday was not as exciting as Wednesday but I greeted the kids and talked with them again. Then here comes Friday! Things were going about the same and I had picked up all the kids. We were pulling up to the Hwy 450 stop and I noticed 4 kids standing and waving at the bus in front of us. They were just being silly, waving at all the kids and thinking they were better for not having to ride the bus or something. So I had a Jason moment and decided to do something a little silly myself. I yelled at all the kids on my bus, "Everybody get up and stick your head out the window and wave at those kids"! All the kids hopped up and started waving and I started honking the horn as loud as I could and waving at these four boys. They looked at us like we were crazy and kinda stopped waving. We pulled out on 450 honking, waving and laughing. It was hilarious. I wish you could have seen the look on those four boys' faces. It was priceless. I bet they wished they were riding on number 7 that afternoon because we were having a blast! It was a great ride all the way home. We talked and laughed. I actually had a fun bus route. Did I just say that?! I admit it. It was fun. So fun, that it was the first thing I told Jason about. I felt like I was finally starting to build some real relationships with these kids. However, I know all that can change when I get on the bus today, lol. But what I do know is that it was a great week.

I saw God move this week on the bus. I can only imagine what it would be like if I had started this four years ago. I decided last week to just put one foot in front of the other, one day at a time and I saw progress. I have to stop wishing my life away and just slow down and enjoy each and every moment. By taking it one step at a time and putting one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, I am positive that I will see God continue to move and won't miss the blessings that are right in front of me. I encourage you to slow down this week, listen to God, and just put one foot in front of the other and see what He has waiting for you to discover!

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. Hebrews 11:3