Day 17 - Rewarded with Smiles and Thank-yous

When I walked into work today at the Middle School, my mail box was full of these thank-you notes! The notes were from one of the classes that I have been visiting since January giving talks to them about making Peace at school using the Peacebuilders Program.

You have no idea how far these students have come.  I remember the first time I entered their classroom all the students were getting out of their seats, walking around the room, calling each other names, and talking back to me and the teacher.  Once a month, I came back to this class and gave a talk about a Peacebuilder topic.  The topics included apologizing, seeking wise people, noticing hurts, giving up put downs, praising others, and helping others.  Soon I had these kids hooked on building Peace at school and having a positive attitude.  All I had to do was plant the seed and watch it grow.  It has been such a reward watching these kids use some of the skills that I have taught them.  And it was so rewarding to have a mailbox full of thank-you notes telling me that they are going to "spread the peace to other schools," and that they are "now a peacebuilder."  Just that morning on my way to work I was praying about my choice to be a social worker.  I told God that I have chosen to be a social worker to serve Him and His people.  I told God that it didn't matter how much money I would make, because I knew that the rewards for serving Him would be so much greater and more meaningful for my life.  And what do you know? After I said a prayer to God about my choice to do social work for Him,  he sent me a reward of smiles and thank-yous that very day.