ANGEL IN THE CLASSROOM

A pastor read a letter from an elementary school teacher who attends
East Hill Church.  The gist of the letter was as follows:

Last school year, her classroom was made up of little third graders,
every one of which came from either a single parent family, or a
dysfunctional family, was undernourished and/or uncared for, lived in an
abusive home and was either beaten, bruised, or raped by other family
members; one little girl's dad died of aids, and the list goes on.  Her
heart bled for these kids.

Before the '99-2000 school year started, she and her husband went to her
classroom and prayed over each desk in the room.  They prayed that God
would place an angel behind each and every child throughout the coming
year to watch over them and protect them.  A month or so after the year
had started, she gave the kids an assignment to write about what they
would like to be when they grew up.  Everybody was busy with his or her
assignment, when "Andrew" raised his hand.  When she asked him what he
needed, he asked how to spell mighty."  After telling him how to spell
mighty, she asked him why he needed to know.  Andrew said it was because
when he grew up he wanted to be a "mighty man of God."  When he said
this, little "Mark" sitting next to him asked, "So, what's a mighty man
of God?"  The teacher, swallowing back her tears, and knowing she could
not say anything in the classroom, told Andrew to go ahead and tell Mark
what it was.  So Andrew says, "It's a man who puts on the armor of God
and is a soldier for God."  After observing some conversation between
Andrew and Mark, the teacher, with a lump in her throat, started to walk
away when Andrew motioned with his little forefinger for her to come
closer.  He whispered to her, asking if she believed in angels.  She
told him yes, she did.  Then he asked her if she thought people could
see angels, and she said she thought some people probably could.  Andrew
said that he did, and he could see an angel standing behind each kid in
the room .  .  .  .  .  .

I don't think there was a dry eye in the church that night!  We need to
remember to pray for all of the teachers, that although there is no
prayer in school, that they are dedicated enough to pray for the
protection of God's angels over the lives of their students.  Maybe it
wouldn't hurt, even at work.