[Excerpts from my 30-minute reading tutoring session with a 1st grader this morning.]
Him: *tears streaming down face and pooling on table below* “I miss my daddy.”
Me: “Did you stay at your daddy’s house this weekend?”
Him: “Uhh huh.”
Me: “Do you like staying at your Daddy’s?”
Him: “Yeah”
Me: “What’s your daddy do for work?”
Him: “He doesn’t have a job. But he used build buildings and make sidewalks.”
Me: “Does your Daddy live with anyone else?”
Him: “He lives with [woman’s name].”
Me: “Why does he live with her? Is that his wife?”
Him: “Because my daddy says she keeps following him.”
Me: “Do you like her?”
Him: “No. She’s mean. She screams at me.”
Me: “Great job today. Let’s go back to class.”
Him: *slowly walks down the hall with tears still on his cheeks*
The world is filled with hurting people from broken homes and broken lives. They’re desperate for someone willing to invest in them and help them process their pain.
Though I didn’t plan to, I did that today in bite-sized chunks throughout 30 minutes. You can do it, too. It just takes time and a listening ear.
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3
