I couldn't believe it. I was heading to the bus and realized I had forgotten to write down the Bible verse that I wanted to use for the week. I had clearly read it in my Bible study on Monday of the week before and had it engraved in my mind, or so I thought. I had even looked at it that morning but when I was walking to the bus I drew a blank. I was frantic! Only ten minutes until all of my little varmints came hopping onto the bus looking for the new verse and what I had written on the mirror. I had to come up with something and QUICK! I could not even think. It was my last week and the verse had to be PERFECT. I was so mad at myself that I could have spit nails and the heat did not help the matter one bit.
I swiftly walked to the bus with my husband ignoring everyone in sight on a mission. I was determined to pick out a verse before I pulled down to the lineup. We hopped on the bus, grabbed the Bible, and started skimming that Bible faster than I ever had in any morning devotion ,lol! I think I read more of the Bible in that ten minutes than I had all year. Terrible, I know!
Jason picked out Peter 5:8, which talks about the devil prowling around like a roaring lion. Don't get me wrong, I like the verse, and it would have been great, but it did not quite go with what I wrote on my mirror. I had decided that I was just going to write, "God loves you", without a verse for the last week until I actually GOT to the last week. I knew the kids would be disappointed if they did not have a verse to look up. I sadly had to tell my wonderful husband that verse would not work because it really didn't correlate to, "God loves you". It would have been more for a, "Sit down and shut up", week, lol!!! So we continued flipping, searching and aha, I had it. "Jason, what is the verse about the love is patient stuff", I asked? I needed something to go with loving and not roaring like a lion! Both of us at the same time said, "Corinthians"! We found it! I read through it and it is a lot to read so Jason suggested 1 Corinthians 13:13. It was PERFECT!!!! Even better than my 1 Peter verse. So that was that. I wrote, "God Loves You" really big all across the mirror with the verse next to it. I wanted the kids to know that God does love them for who they are no matter what.
I only had to drive three days that week and one of the days I did not even have my bus. It was selected to go to Splash Kingdom with my son's UIL team. I was sad that I had to drive an old spare bus but excited that other kids were getting to ride number 7 from Heaven, as Cyndi Stump called it! I think I like that. My bus has become famous. Pretty cool! I did not get a report from her if any of the kids mentioned anything about it but I know they saw the message. So for that I was grateful!
The last week with the kids was really great. I didn't have as many kids each day because of different activities going on and parents picking them up early. This gave me some extra time to talk to kids that I normally did not get to talk to. I got to talk to two different little boys about church and how God loves them on the last day of school. They had told me that they were going to go home early but no one had picked them up so I spent the last ten minutes of the bus ride talking to them. I also got to tell most everyone on the bus that week at some time that God loves them. Although the week was EXTREMELY hot, the Lord saw me through each day and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. As each child left on that last day I said, "Have a great summer and stay out of trouble"! Each one said, "Bye, Mrs. Sutton" and some said, "I'll miss you Mrs. Sutton". It really touched my heart knowing that I touched their lives enough in the past eight weeks that they were actually going to miss me. It was bittersweet for me because there are some kids that will move and I will never see again, others are graduating and others will just simply not ride next year for various reasons. Also, I am unsure of what my future holds for driving the bus since I have been accepted into nursing school in the Fall at UT Tyler Longview. I have yet to see my schedule but find myself hoping that I will still be able to drive bus 7 from Heaven! Crazy, I know. I never thought I would say that.
God has changed me these last eight weeks and I am very grateful for that. He brought life into perspective and my mission into light. I hope that I was pleasing in His eyes by the things I said and did toward each child. My hope is that I planted a seed for each child no matter their age and hope that they begin to seek Jesus and His plan for their life. Each child has their own story and is special in God's eyes. We just have to take the time to get to know them and encourage them. However, eight weeks was not long enough. I feel that there are so many things left unsaid and things that I should have done. Why didn't I do it sooner? Why didn't I hug each child when they left that last day? Why didn't I give them something to take with them to remind them of Christ this summer? Why, Why, Why? I do not have the answers to the things left undone but Christ will see to it that each child will find His love. He used me for planting a seed and hopefully, I will be able to water that seed next year and help it grow and mature into a beautiful child of God.
I encourage you to seek and use every opportunity with each child you come in contact with. It may be the only Jesus they ever see. We are called to go out and, "make disciples of all nations" Matthew 28:19, but it has to start somewhere, right?! Well, mine started with bus 7 from Heaven and until that is fulfilled for Christs' glory, my nation is right here in Hallsville, TX at HISD on bus 7. Find your nation and go to work!
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13:13
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